MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Despite trailing after doubles and on the brink of losing the match midway through singles, the Wesleyan men's tennis team rattled off three consecutive singles victories (all of which came in matches that saw the Cardinals lose the first set) to defeat No. 14 nationally ranked Brandeis, 5-4, on Friday afternoon at the John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts. The Cardinals (4-7) earn their first win over a Top 25 ranked team this season while the Judges (10-4) see their four-match win streak snapped.
 
In a thriller, the path to victory for Wesleyan seemed all but lost as the Cardinals trailed 4-2 in team scoring and had lost the opening set on all three remaining singles courts. Rather than wilting, however, Wesleyan bore down and revitalized some hope as Ben Mitchell '24 overcame a 6-3 opening set defeat with 6-3, 6-1 wins in the second and third sets at #3.
 
Needing wins at both #1 and #4, Peter Anker '22 tied the score at 4 apiece as he defeated Jeff Chen at #1 with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph as the match was entering it's third hour of play. With all hope for both teams centered squarely on #4, it was Harry Portnoy '24 matched up with Simon Kauppila. Brandeis' #4 took the first set 6-4 only to see Portnoy dominate the second set with a 6-1 win. In the third set, the two battled back-and-forth until Portnoy found a break of serve and went on to win 6-4 to earn the clinching point in a massive come-from-behind win for the Cardinals.
 
It certainly wasn't the start Wesleyan had envisioned as Brandeis opened a 2-1 advantage in doubles play. The Cardinals managed the first point of the match with a win at #1 with Anker and Mitchell combining for an 8-4 win over Adam Tzeng and Jeff Chen. The Judges then managed a pair of wins at #2 and #3 to take the lead heading into singles play.
 
With the start of singles play came more Brandeis domination as the Judges won the first set on five of the six courts. Zach Lieb '22 snuffed out the momentum briefly with a strong showing at #2, defeating Dylan Walters 6-4, 6-1 to tie the team score at 2-2. Brandeis then finished off impressive wins at #5 and #6 to open a 4-2 lead and come to within one point of the match victory, only to see Wesleyan mount a furious late rally to upset the Top 15 ranked Judges.
 
Wesleyan enjoys a full week off between matches as the Cardinals are back in action next weekend with a trip to Maine where they will face Bowdoin on Saturday and Colby on Sunday.