The No. 20 University of Redlands men's tennis team welcomed the Chapman University Panthers to Verdieck Courts on Saturday morning for an important Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown. After honoring lone senior Chase Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) in a pre-match ceremony, the Bulldogs left no doubt in their 8-1 decision to secure the No. 3 seed in the upcoming SCIAC Postseason Tournament, which takes place May 3-4.
Against the Panthers, Redlands set the tone early with a sweeping result in the doubles action. Sophomore Brysl Libao (Redlands, CA) and junior Brad Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) put the Bulldogs on the board first with their 8-5 win at No. 1. Junior Andrew Leahy (Claremont, CA) and Lipscomb put together a victory by the same score at No. 3 before first-years Thomas Reznik (Belmont, CA) and Andrew Yip (Honolulu, HI) completed the Bulldogs' 3-0 lead with a hard-fought, 8-7(1) showing on the second court.
The Maroon and Gray continued to cruise in singles, as Libao knocked off his No. 5 opponent in impressive fashion, 6-1, 6-0. Leahy also impressed with his 6-2, 6-0 victory at No. 3 to officially put this one in the books for Redlands.
In addition, Lipscomb, Cummins, and Yip each secured straight-set wins for the Bulldogs.
Redlands (13-5, 5-2 SCIAC) looks forward to competing in the Ojai Tournament on April 26-28.