The No. 37 University of Redlands women's tennis team returned to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition on Saturday morning when it traveled to Pasadena to face the No. 20 Caltech Beavers. Despite some incredible displays of determination on the court, the Bulldogs came up short in a 4-5 decision.
Redlands grabbed a 2-1 lead through the doubles with positive results at Nos. 1 and 2. After the Beavers won at No. 3, the Bulldogs saw sophomore Karen Kobayashi (Sappora, Japan) and junior Jackie Lacy (Palm Desert, CA) prevail in an exciting 8-7 (3) performance on the second court. The top tandem of senior Elizabeth Johnson (Portland, OR) and first-year Halle Martinucci (Burlingame, CA) also battled to win in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (5).
Despite the Bulldogs' slight 2-1 lead, the momentum shifted away from them in singles, as the Beavers snagged a 4-2 advantage with straight-set wins along the top half of the lineup.
Nonetheless, senior Kate Dolan (St. Louis, MO) kept Redlands in the mix with her 7-6, 6-0 victory at the No. 6 slot.
However, Caltech mustered the deciding point at No. 5 before Bulldog sophomore Lexi Lehman (Scottsdale, AZ) tallied a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 4.
Redlands (4-9, 1-1 SCIAC) welcomes No. 35 Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) to Verdieck Courts on Tuesday, April 2, for a 4 p.m. tilt.