The No. 11 University of Redlands men's tennis team returned to the Bratton Indoor Tennis Center at Whitman College (WA) on Saturday for a pair of in-region showdowns against No. 13 Trinity University (TX) and Lewis & Clark College (OR). In a solid day, the Bulldogs came away victorious in both outings.
Despite winning only one of the doubles matches, the Bulldogs effectively shut down the Trinity Tigers in the singles competition to earn the 7-2 victory.
First-year Cameron Krimbill (Scottsdale, AZ) and senior Cooper Lacetera (Westhampton Beach, NY) put Redlands on the board first with an 8-2 thrashing of their No. 3 counterparts.
However, Trinity quickly responded by prevailing at Nos. 1 and 2 for an early 2-1 lead through the doubles.
Nonetheless, Redlands made the necessary adjustments in the singles and won them all, with five of them coming in straight sets. Senior Joey Dulle (St. Louis, MO) set the tone early with his 6-0, 6-2 dismantling at No. 2, while junior Chase Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) followed suit at the top slot by earning scores of 6-1, 6-1.
Now leading 3-2, the Bulldogs looked to sophomore Andrew Leahy (Claremont, CA) and Krimbill to put this one in the books. At No. 4, Leahy rallied for a three-set victory, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, before Krimbill sealed the deal with his 6-2, 7-5 decision at No. 3.
In addition, first-year Brysl Libao (Redlands, CA) and sophomore Brad Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) supplied solid results at Nos. 6 and 5, as the duo dropped no more than three games in two sets apiece.
Following a short break, Redlands headed back out on court to face the Lewis & Clark Pioneers in the evening. After sweeping the doubles, the Bulldogs cruised to straight-set victories in five of the six singles matches to capture the 8-1 victory.
The top doubles duo of Dulle and Cummins rolled to an 8-2 win before Lipscomb and Libao put together an 8-5 triumph at No. 2. Krimbill and Lacetera completed the Bulldogs' sweep with their 8-4 performance at the No. 3 slot.
The Maroon and Gray maintained this momentum in singles by winning the first three matches off the court. Leahy topped his No. 4 counterpart, 6-2, 6-0, as Lipscomb registered a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 1 to officially secure the team's second win of the day.
Furthermore, Krimbill, Cummins, and Libao captured straight-set singles triumphs for the Bulldogs.
Redlands (2-1) heads home to Verdieck Courts for its next two matches, which take place on Saturday, February 17. The Bulldogs face Colorado College at 9:30 a.m. and then square off against Occidental College at 1:30 p.m. in the first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match of the season.