The No. 21 University of Redlands men's tennis team traveled to Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, over the weekend for a trio of matches against nationally-ranked foes. The Bulldogs knocked off No. 18 University of Texas-Tyler by a score of 7-2 and then defeated No. 23 UC Santa Cruz, 6-1, on Saturday. The Maroon and Gray's trip wrapped up with an exciting and intense match against No. 13 Whitman College (WA), but the Bulldogs came up short against the Missionaries by a score of 3-6, on Sunday.
On Saturday morning, Redlands jumped out to a 2-1 lead over the UT-T Patriots by winning at Nos. 2 and 3 in doubles. Freshman Joey Dulle (St. Louis, MO) and sophomore Jake Ly (Torrance, CA) teamed up at No. 3 to grab an 8-6 triumph and get the ball rolling. Although the Patriots answered with a win at No. 1, Bulldog seniors Gram Leahy (Portland, OR) and Ted Burchett (Gold River, CA) earned an 8-5 victory at the No. 2 slot for the Maroon and Gray's 2-1 overall lead.
In singles, the Bulldogs rolled to victory in straight sets in four matches, with senior Patrick Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) initiating the momentum with his 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1. Senior Nick Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) followed suit at the No. 2 slot by earning a 6-1, 6-4 decision. Dulle and Leahy also recorded straight-set wins, propelling the Bulldogs to a 7-2 overall showing. In addition, sophomore Tom Suchodolski (Amherst, MA) also prevailed in singles but took his No. 4 opponent to three sets, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.
Later that evening, Redlands returned to action to battle it out with west-region foe Santa Cruz. The Bulldogs wasted little time in establishing their positive rhythm of the match by sweeping the doubles. Dulle and Ly held on at No. 3 with a 9-7 showing, before Leahy and Burchett came up with an 8-4 victory at the No. 2 slot. Lipscomb and Cummins secured the 3-0 team advantage by taking down their No. 1 opponents by a score of 9-7.
Only four singles matches were completed to wrap up the long day of competition at the Bratton Indoor Tennis Center. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs won all but one to earn the solid 6-1 victory over the Banana Slugs. Lipscomb topped his No. 1 foe by scores of 6-3, 6-1, while Suchodolski put together a more efficient 6-4, 6-0 showing at the No. 4 spot. Cummins added to his successful day by coming back to win 5-7, 6-1, 10-2 at No. 2.
The Bulldogs' busy weekend was completed on Sunday morning when they faced off against the host school, Whitman College. Redlands garnered a 2-1 lead through the doubles matches by securing 8-4 wins at Nos. 1 and 2, with Lipscomb and Cummins, and Leahy and Burchett prevailing.
During the singles matches, the Bulldogs battled against the Missionaries amidst a great, competitive environment at the Bratton Indoor Tennis Center. After falling in straight sets at Nos. 2 and 4, the Bulldogs looked to sophomore Parker Wilson (Carlsbad, CA) to extend his match to three but, unfortunately, he came up on the losing end of a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 showing. Lipscomb also forced a third set and battled through two tiebreakers but fell short, 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6 (2). Leahy gained the only singles point for the Bulldogs, which came after his No. 6 opponent had to retire in the second set.
Redlands (3-3) next faces Brandeis University (MA) on Friday, February 20, in a 1 p.m. match on Verdieck Courts.
