Although Brandeis students may have been on break from Feb. 21 to Feb. 25, Brandeis athletics was in full swing, competing throughout the country. The baseball team participated in its first of two tournaments in Florida, both basketball teams concluded their regular seasons at home and the nationally-ranked tennis teams competed in California.

Baseball

While the baseball team may not have been competing against major-league squads, the team was in Florida for its own spring training session. Competing in seven games at the Central Florida Invitational, the squad compiled a 4-3 record. The Judges scored seven runs in the first two innings, en route to winning the first game of the season against Warner College 7-3. However, Brandeis got a rude wake-up call in the second game, getting shutout 12-0 by Augustana College. From there, the baseball team would win three out of the next five games, notching victories over Farmingdale State College and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Starting pitcher and first baseman Kyle Brenner '15 tossed two complete games, allowing just three runs in 16 innings to finish the trip at 2-0. Leadoff second baseman Sean O'Hare '12 has started off the season on a tear, hitting .440 (8-25) with one home run, five RBIs and eight runs. The team will travel to its annual University Athletic Association tournament in Florida this Sunday, beginning with a game against Emory University.

Men's Basketball

With 19 points Feb. 19, men's basketball forward Vytas Kriskus '12 became just the 30th men's basketball player in Brandeis history to reach 1,000 career points. After averaging 15.8 points on 46.7 percent from the field and 6.6 rebounds in league play, Kriskus was named to the first-team All-UAA. Center Youri Dascy '14 and point guard Tyrone Hughes '12 were named honorable mentions.

After an impressive victory over No. 24 Washington University in St. Louis, the eventual UAA champions, the Judges only stood two games behind first place at a respectable 7-5 mark. However, consecutive home losses against the University of Chicago and New York University halted Brandeis' chances of making the NCAA Tournament this year. The Judges finished the regular season at 13-12 and 7-7 in the UAA, losing four out of their last five games. to conclude the 2011-2012 season.

Women's Basketball

The women's basketball team, which has struggled all year against conference opponents, finally found its rhythm on Senior Day. On Feb. 25, the Judges halted their six-game losing streak to defeat NYU 62-55 and pick up their second conference victory of the season. Guard Morgan Kendrew '12 scored 21 points in her final game at Brandeis and finished the season with an average of 13.4 points per game, the highest on the team. She also averaged three rebounds this season and shot 38.1 percent, receiving a spot on the Second All-UAA team.

Guard Diana Cincotta '11, MA'12, who averaged 6.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in conference play, was named as an All-UAA honorable mention. Before the loss to NYU, the team had suffered blowout losses to WashU and U Chicago to end their season with a 2-12 mark in the conference. The Judges finished 9-16 overall for the season.

Men's Tennis

The tennis teams earned a reprieve from the New England winter when they traveled to California for their first competitive action of the season. Beginning the season as the 24th ranked Division III team in the nation, the men's squad got off to a rough start in California, losing both of their first two matches by a score of 7-2. After a 6-3 victory over Chapman University, the Judges fell to No. 15 University of Redlands 8-1. Steven Milo '13 notably won his first match of the season easily, 6-1, 6-4. His second match, however, was a much closer affair, facing off against Cal Lutheran sophomore Nicholas Ballou. After losing the first set, Milo took the second set and the tiebreaker, winning 5-7, 7-6 (6-0), 1-0 (10-6). The team hopes to offset its slow start to the season when they travel to the Middlebury Invitation in Vermont this Friday to compete against NYU.

Women's Tennis

Ranked 30th in Division III, the women's tennis team had a much more positive outcome in its California road trip, emerging undefeated in five matches. The team beat California Lutheran University 6-3 and Occidental College 9-0. After a close 5-4 victory over Chapman University, the Judges soundly defeated Whittier College 7-2. The fifth matchup of the trip, against the No. 28 University of Redlands squad, lived up to the hype. The victor was not determined until the final match, as No. 2 Faith Broderick '13 pulled off a 7-5 victory in the tiebreaker set to give the Judges a 5-4 victory. Broderick also won four out of her five matches during the week. No. 1 Carley Cooke '15 won all five of matches in impressive fashion, dropping just one set. The Cooke and Broderick doubles team earned victories in all five matches. The team will next compete against NYU at the Middlebury Invitational.