The University of Redlands men's tennis team welcomed the Judges of No. 21 Brandeis University (MA) to Verdieck Courts for a non-conference match on Friday afternoon. In a tough turn of events, the Bulldogs suffered a closer-than-it-appears, 1-8 loss.
In doubles, Redlands battled at every position but came up short in a sweeping result. Senior Chase Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) and junior Brad Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) pushed their No. 1 counterparts to a 6-8 decision in the tightest performance.
Now trailing 0-3, the Maroon and Gray faced a significant uphill climb to overcome the deficit. Unfortunately for the home team, the Judges kept pressing and secured straight-set wins at the top-three slots.
With the match already decided, the Bulldogs continued to fight and showed incredible heart. Cummins came away victorious at No. 4 with his 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 showing. First-years Andrew Yip (Honolulu, HI) and Thomas Reznik (Belmont, CA) also competed in super-breakers at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, but those matches went in favor of Brandeis.
Redlands (0-1) travels to Azusa Pacific University on Saturday, February 23, for an exhibition match against the Cougars at 9:30 a.m.