The No. 15 University of Redlands men's tennis team battled it out with NAIA opponent, Concordia University – Irvine, on Friday, competing in a postponed match from late February.  After taking a 2-1 lead in doubles, the Bulldogs came up short in singles, losing two three-setters en route to the 4-5 defeat. 

Redlands jumped out to an exciting start by winning the first two doubles matches to come off the court.  Junior Ted Burchett (Gold River, CA) and freshman Jake Ly (Torrance, CA) initiated the scoring with their 8-5 effort at the No. 3 slot, before juniors Patrick Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) and Gram Leahy (Portland, OR) fired off an 8-3 victory at No. 2. 

Although the Eagles pulled one back at No. 1, the Bulldogs entered the singles competition with a slight edge.

After Concordia evened the count with a straight-set showing at No. 6 singles, Redlands' Lipscomb impressed at the top of the lineup by downing his opponent, 6-3, 6-2.

The teams traded punches one more time, with Burchett notching a 6-2, 7-5 performance at the No. 4 position for the Bulldogs. 

Down 3-4, the Eagles responded by prevailing in the final two matches in three sets, resulting in the difficult loss for the Maroon and Gray.

Redlands (4-5) looks to rebound when it faces off against the 14th-ranked University of Texas – Tyler on Saturday at 10 a.m. on Verdieck Courts.