The No. 37 University of Redlands women's tennis team hit the road on Saturday for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown against the Cal Lutheran University Regals in Thousand Oaks. After earning a 2-1 lead in the doubles, the Bulldogs won four of the six singles matches to secure a 6-3 victory.
Senior Elizabeth Johnson (Portland, OR) and first-year Halle Martinucci (Burlingame, CA) started things off well by edging their No. 1 opponents, 8-6. Junior Jackie Lacy (Palm Desert, CA) and sophomore Karen Kobayashi (Sappora, Japan) followed suit with an 8-4 victory at No. 2.
Although the Regals pushed past their No. 3 counterparts in an 8-6 decision, the Bulldogs maintained the advantage and the momentum for the start of singles. Martinucci blanked her No. 5 foe, 6-0, 6-0 before senior Kate Dolan (St. Louis, MO) came out on top at No. 6 with a 6-3, 6-3 showing.
Now leading 4-1, the Bulldogs needed to win just one of the four remaining singles matches. However, the Regals answered with a pair of victories at Nos. 1 and 2 to make it, 3-4.
But the Maroon and Gray kept its focus on the remaining courts, as Kobayashi clinched the match at No. 3 with her 6-1, 7-5 result. In addition, sophomore Lexi Lehman (Scottsdale, AZ) rallied back to capture a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4.
Redlands (6-9, 2-1 SCIAC) returns home to Verdieck Courts on Friday, April 12, to face No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 3 p.m.