With incredible heart and grit, the No. 34 University of Redlands women's tennis team rallied back from the brink of defeat to knock off the University of Texas–Dallas in a 5-4 shocker.  After being rained out in the middle of the match on Tuesday, the Bulldogs faced a significant climb with a 1-3 deficit.  On Wednesday, the teams returned to Verdieck Courts, where the Maroon and Gray fought for every inch of the impressive comeback.

The Comets jumped on the board by snagging two of the doubles points before Redlands bounced back with a hard-fought 9-7 win by the No. 1 tandem of junior Elizabeth Johnson (Portland, OR) and sophomore Sarah Ikioka (Wailuku, HI).

In singles, UT-Dallas maintained the momentum with a victory at No. 2 to put the Bulldogs in a 1-3 hole.

With the teams well into the singles competition, Tuesday's match was postponed due to rain.

On Wednesday, the match picked up right where it left on Verdieck Courts.  The Comets continued to roll early on, earning a 4-1 advantage and seemingly the soon-to-be victory.

However, Redlands battled tooth and nail to stay in the contest, as all four of the remaining singles matches went to a third set.  Sophomore Jackie Lacy (Palm Desert, CA) initiated the Bulldogs' resurgence with her impressive 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 showing at No. 4.  First-year Lexi Lehman (Scottsdale, AZ) kept things rolling at No. 3 with a 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0 victory, while Ikioka closed the door on her No. 1 opponent in a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 performance.

With the overall score now tied at four apiece, the Bulldogs looked to junior Kate Dolan (St. Louis, MO) to clinch this amazing comeback.  After losing the first set, she forced a third, and then battled to win the final three games for the win by scores of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Redlands (5-4) takes on Trinity College (CT) on Friday, March 16, at 2 p.m. on Verdieck Courts.