Behind solid performances from returning stars and upstart matches from newcomers, the women's tennis team slammed Simmons College 6-3 at home in its season-opener Saturday. The Judges took the top three matches in singles as well as the top two in doubles on their way to a 1-0 season record.

"It was a good team effort," coach Ben Lamanna said. "There were some first match jitters and we did a good job settling down, but there were no easy matches."

The Judges received vintage performances from their singles performers, as No. 1 singles player Ana Katz '08 defeated Sharks' sophomore Alex Yudelevich, 6-3, 6-1, while No. 2 Gabrielle Helfott '09 downed sophomore Kendra Currier, 6-0, 7-5. The Judges did lose a pair of grueling 10-point super-tiebreakers at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, but managed to overcome those outcomes by knocking off the Sharks at every other singles spot.

In the doubles rounds, Katz teamed up with captain Jenicka Hornung '07 for a 8-3 victory in the No. 1 spot. Meanwhile, Helfgott teamed up with rookie Emily Weisberger '10 to take the No. 2 match 8-4.

Brandeis was boosted by particularly surprising contributions from its rookies in the season-opener. Weisberger's was superb in the No. 2 doubles, and fellow rookie Ariana Sanai '10 notched a No. 3 singles win 7-6, 7-0 and 6-4. After witnessing these solid debuts, Lamanna was excited about the rookies.

"It's a very good class," Lamanna said of the rookies. "[Sanai] is an unbelievable competitor; she is aggressive and doesn't let the pressure get to her. [Weisberger] is also very tough, she is very consistent."

The Judges' first victory was an encouraging start to the season, but in light of its youth, Lamana stressed that Brandeis has a lot more to work on for its upcoming matches. Lamanna said that the Judges must learn to stay calm during important points and force their opponents to make mistakes.

"We have to play to win and hope that our opponent plays not to lose," Lamanna said. "We get to points in the match where there is more pressure and we tend to tighten up a little bit and instead of forcing mistakes, we hope that they make mistakes. [On Saturday] we got away with it, but we won't down the road."

Lamana also highlighted good team chemistry as a recipe for success this season.

"Right now we are more of a team than we've ever been," Lamanna said. "We have great team chemistry and everyone is realizing their role. Everyone is going to play a huge role this fall, so players who haven't had to step up in the past are doing so now."

The Judges host Bentley College on Thursday at 3 p.m.