The top of the women's tennis team's lineup, led by rookie sensation Rachel Rosman '11, had carried the team throughout the fall, but in the season-ending New England Intercollegiate Women's Tennis Tournament, it was the bottom of the lineup that performed the best.The Judges sent two players to the semifinals of the tournament, as No. 5 singles player Mackenzie Gallegos '11 and No. 6 singles player Ana Katz '08 each finished just two victories away from winning their respected brackets.

While Rosman had emerged at the top of the lineup, Gallegos, a fellow rookie, entered the tournament undefeated in singles play this fall. She continued her streak with victories in the first three rounds of the No. 5 singles bracket, including a quarterfinal 6-1, 7-6(3) upset of fourth-seeded Wellesley College sophomore Mohona Siddique.

"[Gallegos] played a really good match against the [fourth] seed," coach Ben Lamanna said.

-"She was finally tested against a real good player, and she was solid."

Gallegos finally lost her first match of the fall in the semifinals to Amherst College rookie Carlissa King 7-5, 6-1.

Katz reached the semifinals of the No. 6 singles bracket by pulling off a three-set, come-from-behind victory in her quarterfinal match.

After defeating Bates College senior Liz Flemming 7-6(4) 6-2 in the second round, Katz lost the first set against Trinity College sophomore Olivia Merns in the quarterfinals, but rallied to win 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(4).

Katz eventually fell 6-3 6-3 in the semifinals to Williams College senior Annie Schneidman.

Rosman easily won her first two matches, losing only one game combined to reach the quarterfinals of the No. 1 singles bracket.

There, she met Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore Leslie Hanson, who had defeated Rosman 6-0, 7-5 as part of a 6-3 MIT victory Oct. 9.

This match provided more of the same, as Hanson won the quarterfinal contest 6-1, 7-6(6).

"[Hanson] just knows how to force points," Rosman said, "I was excited to play her again and had chances to win the second set, so I was disappointed."

Brandeis was one of only five schools out of 16 that sent more than one player to the semifinals of any of the six singles brackets, an accomplishment the Judges hadn't achieved in Lamanna's three-year tenure.

"We didn't have anyone win their bracket, but we did get two girls in the semifinals," Rosman said.

"Not many schools can say that."

With Brandeis closing out its fall season, Lamanna said the team's depth will fare well moving into the spring season. The bottom third of the Judges' lineup, occupied by Katz, Gallegos and Ariana Sanai '10, went a combined 19-5 in singles play this fall.

The fall season also saw the emergence of Rosman, who now sits atop the Judges' lineup after switching with Colleen Donnelly '08 prior to the team's 7-2 victory over Trinity College Oct. 6. Lamanna expects Rosman to only improve as the spring season approaches.

"If she has a solid spring, she has a shot at nationals," Lamanna said.

"I don't want to place that expectation upon her but she's definitely [among the] top 10 or 12 in New England."

The men's team concluded its fall season last week at the Wallach Invitation. Although Lamanna said he expects the Judges to improve through the spring season, he wasn't as certain about rookies Simon Miller '11 and Steven Nieman's 11 development.

"I don't want to go there," Lamanna said. "I don't think we can talk about national rankings on [Miller and Nieman] individually."

"We're just a little too young right now, [and] we still have a long way to go," Lamanna added. "We're definitely doing well in a lot of areas but [they] don't have complete games yet."

Captain Scott Schulman '09 expects the young team, which started rookies in four of the six spots in the lineup this fall, to be prepared for a difficult spring schedule.

"There's a lot of difficult competition these guys have faced in the past where you don't need to be as mentally strong," Schulman said. "But we're going to be playing against some of the best competition in Division III, so we're going to have to be ready for that.