Members of the University of Redlands tennis teams competed in the 2008 NCAA Individual Championships on Saturday and faced top opponents in the first rounds. Senior Eric Wagar (Yakima, WA) competed in the singles draw at Bates College (ME), while sophomore Rachael Miller (Newport Beach, CA) and the sophomore doubles duo of Paige Sumida (Hilo, HI) and Whitney Waters (Austin, TX) traveled to Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) for the women’s event.

Wagar suffered a tough first-round loss to the tournament’s #3 seed from Emory University (GA), 7-6 (3), 6-2, concluding an outstanding career. Earlier this season, Wagar earned All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) First Team accolades and was named the Redlands Frank Serrao Male Senior Student-Athlete of the Year. With a 23-5 singles record, he helped guide the Bulldogs to the NCAA Team Championships for the 17th-consecutive season.

On the women’s side, Miller battled through three sets in her first-round singles matchup but suffered a tough loss to the #7 seed from Sewanee (TN), 5-7, 6-0, 6-3. Sumida and Waters experienced similar results, putting up a valiant effort in a three-set loss to their opponents from DePauw University (IN), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Prior to competing in the championships, these three women received All-SCIAC honors while playing critical roles in Redlands’ solid season that was highlighted by a conference co-championship and third-round appearance in the NCAA Team Championships.