Brandeis men's tennis gave a warm welcome to Bentley, Queens College,and Franklin Pierce on their home turf, winning two of the three singles flights and one in doubles at the Brandeis Invitational Tournament last weekend.Mike Vulfovich '07 defeated Bentley opponent Mike McCrillis 6-1, 6-1 on the first day of competition, and sailed through the semifinals and final pro-set games, played indoor due to inclement weather, 10-5 and 10-8 to claim the B flight.

Cliff Silverman '07 advanced to the finals of the C flight after defeating teammate Seth Green '06 in the quarterfinal match. Silverman trailed 6-1 in the final match against an opponent from Queens before rallying to win nine of the last 10 games and take a 10-7 decision.

In doubles competition, injury defaults prevented all but one game from being contested. In this A flight game, 2004 Rookie of the Year, Sam Jonas '07 and teammate Tomas Wallenberg '06 trounced teams from Franklin Pierce and Queens 9-7.

The Judges charged into the Brandeis Invitational with the momentum gained from an intense season opener the week before at cross-town rival Bentley College. Although ending in 5-4 victory, the first encounter with the Falcons was a crucial critique for the Brandeis team.

"For our first match of the season we had our expected jitters and mishaps, but the majority of the team performed well," captain Chris Hersel '05 said " It was a good to see how everyone was playing after the summer. The team as a whole realized what they need to work on."

Wallenberg, Robert Friedman '06, and Adam Sher '07 walked away with wins in their singles matches, Wallenberg defeating Bentley's No. 2 player 6-0, 6-4.

Friedman's victory was a replay of his opener last season. "...He got a set off me then, en route to my victory in 3 sets. So it was nice to come out strong this time around, and beat him in straight sets, and to start the season off the way I envisioned," Friedman said.

Brandeis dominated the doubles play with victories in the No. 1 and No. 2 slots.

"Hart Comess-Daniels ('06) and I showed some good chemistry together winning 8-3 at the No. 2 doubles spot," Friedman said. "We're excited about [our] combination, and [we think] we can bring home some big wins for us in doubles this year."

Wallenberg and Jonas once again demonstrated their strength as a pair against the No. 1 doubles team, defeating Bentley 8-2.

The women's team had a quiet week of training in preparation for their upcoming matches against NYU and Trinity College.

The Judges competition against Connecticut College was suspended due to darkness. Brandeis trailed 4-2 in the overall match, but was leading in two of the three final matches. 2004 Rookie of the Year, Jen Krueger '07 played intensely against the No. 1 Connecticut singles player, eventually ending her sets in a tie 6-4, 4-6, 5-5.

Abby Lerner '06 also handled her singles competition, defeating the Connecticut Camel, Lisa Steckmest, 6-4, 6-2.

Rookie Colleen Donnelly of Bethany, Conn. held her ground at the 2004 ITA Regional Championships at Williams College, advancing to the second round of play after defeating Rami Ishikawa of RPI in straight sets, 7-6, 6-1.

The Judges travel to Amherst College today to take on one of their major rivals in the Lord Jeffs. The match begins at 3 p.m.