The No. 22 University of Redlands men's tennis team battled all the way back from 2-4 to capture a thrilling 5-4 win over No. 20 Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) on Tuesday in the Bulldogs' final non-conference tilt of the regular season.
After dropping the opening doubles match at No. 1, the Maroon and Gray gained a critical point from the No. 3 tandem of senior Chase Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) and junior Andrew Leahy (Claremont, CA). Lipscomb and Leahy combined forces for an efficient 8-3 showing.
However, the momentum quickly shifted back in favor of the Golden Gusties, who snagged a 2-1 lead upon completion of the doubles.
The back-and-forth nature of the match continued, with sophomore Brysl Libao (Redlands, CA) evening the tally for the Bulldogs with his impressive 6-0, 6-3 result at No. 5. But Gustavus Adolphus won the next two matches off the court to take a solid 4-2 lead.
With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs battled in three sets at every remaining match, beginning with junior Brad Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) at No 4. He overcame an opening-set loss en route to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 effort. First-year Andrew Yip (Honolulu, HI) also did his part on the sixth court by prevailing in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 decision.
Now with the match score tied up at four, it all came down to first-year Thomas Reznik (Belmont, CA) at No. 3. For the sixth time this season, Reznik scored the deciding point, as he earned a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 triumph to propel his team past the Golden Gusties.
Redlands (9-3, 1-0 SCIAC) returns to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Friday, April 5, with a 3 p.m. match against Occidental College in Eagle Rock.
