Motivated by a long and storied tradition of success, the 2010 Bulldog men's tennis team faced off against numerous nationally-ranked opponents, including three of the top seven from the West Region alone. In addition, Redlands managed the challenges and now anticipates the benefits of starting as many as five freshmen throughout the season. Overall, the team posted a 15-11 record en route to a final national ranking of No. 16 while going 6-3 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action for third place.
The Bulldogs kicked off the season with a 5-0 run that included a trio of victories on February 20. Redlands took care of the Beavers of Caltech in a conference match by a score of 9-0 while six other players simultaneously cruised past Biola University with an 8-1 showing. The team then reunited at Cal Poly Pomona for a hard-fought 5-4 win over the Division II opponent. Freshman Kevin Kosanke (Bellevue, WA) went undefeated on the day, contributing two straight-set singles victories.
On March 1, the Bulldog men's tennis team initiated its own version of "March Madness" with 14 matches during the month, including 11 against the nation's top-30 teams.
During the opening showdown, the Maroon and Gray suffered a 3-6 loss to Cal Lutheran University in SCIAC competition, which unfortunately set off a four-match skid.
After dropping a 3-6 decision to No. 9 Carnegie Mellon University (PA), the Bulldogs rattled off three consecutive victories, including an upset of No. 13 Trinity University (TX). Against the Tigers, the team posted a 2-1 lead after the doubles matches and then surged ahead with freshman Anish Nanda (Cerritos, CA) and senior Matt Liebman (Westport, CT) nabbing victories at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. Needing just one more point for the win, Redlands relied on senior Jeff Hammond (Mercer Island, WA) to clinch the match with his 6-1, 6-2 display at No. 5.
Redlands finished out its crazy month of competition with a 3-4 showing against some of the best opponents in the country, including the eventual national champion squad from Middlebury College (VT) and the national runners-up at Amherst College (MA).
In April, the team completed its conference schedule with a 2-1 performance. After falling to fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Redlands gained an important 6-3 victory over a much-improved Whittier College team. With four freshmen competing in the six singles matches, the Bulldogs pushed themselves against the Poets en route to the important conference win. With a 4-2 advantage midway through the match, Redlands looked to freshman Taylor Chaparro (Burlingame, CA) to record the winning point by defeating his No. 3 opponent, 6-4, 6-1.
After honoring senior Daniel Adachi (Honolulu, HI), Hammond and Liebman in a pre-match ceremony on April 10, the Maroon and Gray took down No. 22 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by a score of 6-3. Appropriately earned on Senior Day, this victory also marked Head Coach Geoff Roche's 200th career victory since taking over the helm of the Redlands men's tennis program in 2000.
With a 4-2 conference record, Redlands entered the SCIAC Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed, taking on sixth-seeded Whittier College for the second time this season. While facing a 1-2 deficit after doubles, the Bulldogs responded with four resounding singles wins to secure the 5-2 victory and advance to the semifinals for a rematch against No. 5 Cal Lutheran. Unfortunately, the Kingsmen reigned supreme, resulting in a 3-6 loss for the Maroon and Gray. The biggest bright spot of the disappointing defeat came at No. 1 singles where junior Cameron Spearman (Laguna Niguel, CA) posted a three-set victory over the then-top-ranked singles player in the West Region.
Redlands closed out the tournament with a solid 7-2 victory over No. 23 Pomona-Pitzer to finish third in the final conference standings. After sweeping the doubles to secure a 3-0 lead, Redlands clinched the match with the first two singles victories as freshman Connor Hyde (Peterborough, NH) posted an impressive 6-1, 6-2 win at the No. 5 slot, which was followed by Wong's 6-2, 7-5 performance at No. 6.
Immediately following the event, the head coaches presented the All-SCIAC awards to the deserving student-athletes. For the Bulldogs, Spearman gained First-Team honors, while Nanda, Hammond and junior Keven Wong (Kaneohe, HI) were named to the Second Team. During the season, Wong accomplished the impressive feat of going undefeated in all 13 of his conference matches.
In late April, seven members of the Bulldog men's tennis team participated in the 110th Ojai Valley Tournament, garnering individual results against Division III opponents from the region. Hammond, Spearman and sophomore Lander Jewett (Helena, MT) all won at least one singles match, while two of Redlands' doubles duos --Hammond and Wong, and Spearman and Nanda-- advanced to the quarterfinals.
For the first time in 19 years, the Redlands men's tennis team missed the cut for the NCAA Championships. Despite holding a national ranking of No. 16 at the time of the postseason announcement, the Bulldogs did not receive one of five at-large bids, thus ending an impressive streak of NCAA appearances as well as the 2010 season.
With all but one starter returning to action in 2011, Redlands looks forward to gaining the benefits of this season's somewhat challenging campaign. As young players grew against tough competition, their experiences provide an excellent foundation for the future of the Bulldogs. While remaining focused on adding to the program's illustrious history, which includes 56 SCIAC championships and 15 national titles, the Maroon and Gray excitedly learn from the past with an unmatched dedication to upholding the longstanding tradition of Redlands men's tennis.