With Head Coach Geoff Roche leading the way, the high-caliber tradition of Bulldog men's tennis continued at the University of Redlands during the 2014-15 campaign. The Maroon and Gray garnered a 17-8 overall record and tied for second place in the always-impressive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) while finishing the campaign among the best in the country with a final national ranking of No. 15. Furthermore, the Bulldogs received three All-America nods as seniors Patrick Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) and Nick Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) successfully represented Redlands with strong play at the NCAA Individual Championships.
After Lipscomb set the tone for a great season with his semifinal appearance at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Fall Regional Championships, the Bulldogs embarked upon a busy and exciting spring schedule with a three-match outing in late January. Despite dropping two to NAIA opponents, Redlands opened conference competition with an 8-1 thrashing of Caltech. Following an injury-plagued junior year, senior Taylor Hunt (Seattle, WA) made his return to the competitive line-up by notching a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles to aide in the solid victory.
The Bulldogs headed up to Walla Walla, Washington, for a productive trip against quality in-region opponents. Equipped with a national ranking of No. 23, Redlands knocked off then-No. 18 University of Texas – Tyler and then-No. 23 UC Santa Cruz in an impressive all-day affair. Against the Tigers, the Maroon and Gray rode a 2-1 advantage after doubles to cruise to a 7-2 overall victory. Senior Gram Leahy (Portland, OR) and freshman Joey Dulle (St. Louis, MO) separately stepped up in doubles before rolling to straight-set wins in their respective singles matches. Later that evening, Redlands edged the Banana Slugs in all three doubles to create sufficient momentum for the eventual 6-1 showing over the west-region foes. Lipscomb and sophomore Tom Suchodolski (Amherst, MA) provided quality singles wins at Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, to propel the Maroon and Gray to victory.
Redlands' trip wrapped up the next morning with an exciting and intense match against then-No. 13 Whitman College (WA) on the host's home courts. Despite showing great tenacity and heart, the Bulldogs came up short against the Missionaries by a score of 3-6.
On February 20, the men's tennis team competed in the friendly surroundings of Verdieck Courts for the first time in 2015 by taking down then-No. 31 Brandeis University (MA) in fine fashion. After contributing to the Bulldogs' 2-1 performance in doubles, Lipscomb officially sealed the deal against the Judges with a 6-4, 6-3 showing at the top slot in singles.
This win kicked off a 12-match home-stand that included a six-match win streak and a 9-3 effort through the end of March. Now ranked No. 19 in the country, the Maroon and Gray fired off impressive victories over Christopher Newport University (VA), then-No. 17 University of Mary Washington (VA), and Hardin-Simmons University (TX). During this stretch, Redlands also was tested by the unsuspecting Cardinals of then-No. 35 Wesleyan University (CT) on March 11. In an epic battle, the deciding point came down to Leahy's three-set triumph at No. 6, where he prevailed by scores of 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-2 for a memorable moment on Verdieck Courts.
During two of their next three matches, the Bulldogs fired off impressive 8-1 wins by taking down Sewanee (TN) and Pacific University (OR). Redlands' doubles sweep inspired solid showings in singles in each outing, with Dulle and Hunt registering the deciding point in these respective matches.
The remaining match of this contest trio included an upset opportunity over the then-No. 10 Polar Bears of Bowdoin College (ME). After the Bulldogs came out firing to capture all three of the doubles points, they struggled to maintain that offensive rhythm and ultimately faltered in singles. Cummins garnered the only win for Redlands with a 6-4, 6-4 performance at the No. 2 slot.
The Maroon and Gray closed out the month of March with a 2-2 effort, as highlighted by 9-0 wins over Occidental College and Chapman University in SCIAC action.
The next month began with a difficult loss to top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges but Redlands quickly rallied to conclude the round-robin portion of the conference season with three victories. A pair of 9-0 triumphs over Cal Lutheran University and Whittier College bookended an exciting 5-4 upset over then-No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges that included plenty of drama. Now ranked 17th in the country, the Bulldogs looked to Dulle and sophomore Jake Ly (Torrance, CA) to capture their sole doubles point to stay within striking distance. Redlands needed to win four out of six singles matches to pull out the upset and that is exactly what it did. Dulle got the ball rolling with a 6-1, 6-4 effort at No. 5, while Cummins came out on top at No. 3 by scores of 6-3, 6-4. With a 7-5, 6-1 triumph at No. 3, sophomore Parker Wilson (Carlsbad, CA) put the Bulldogs up for the first time since the initial doubles win, making it 4-3 in the overall tally. However, the Sagehens answered back to even the count and force the deciding point to be determined at the top singles showdown. After splitting the opening two sets, Lipscomb moved onto an incredibly tight third set, which eventually went to a tiebreak. With tenacity and heart, he nabbed the exciting victory by a score of 7-3 in the tiebreak, resulting in Redlands' upset-win over the third-ranked men's tennis team in the country.
The Maroon and Gray enjoyed a change of pace with its annual trek to the Ojai Tournament to conclude a quality month of April. Highlighting the Bulldogs' success, Lipscomb advanced to the semifinals of singles, while Leahy and senior Ted Burchett (Gold River, CA) made it that far in the doubles bracket.
Now ranked No. 13 in the country, Redlands returned to dual-match competition during the SCIAC Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed. After cruising by the Occidental Tigers in a 5-0 decision, the Bulldogs faced off against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in an intense rematch of the quality bout from three weeks earlier. Lipscomb and Cummins came out firing on all cylinders and secured an 8-4 victory at the top slot, which turned out to be Redlands' only point in doubles. Cummins continued to impress by taking down his No. 2 foe, 6-2, 6-1, to even the overall score at two apiece. Leahy put Redlands in front by stepping up with a 6-4, 6-2 decision at No. 6. However, the Sagehens stormed back to take this one by the same score as the teams' previous meeting.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs quickly bounced back by defeating the Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran, 7-2, in the third-place match of the tournament. After sweeping the doubles matches, the Maroon and Gray prevailed in four of six singles matches to complete the conference season on a high note. Among the highlights, Leahy and Burchett secured the third doubles point with their 8-4 showing at No. 2, while Lipscomb and Cummins efficiently won in singles to put this one in the books.
Four days later, the Bulldogs learned their post-season fate and it included Lipscomb and Cummins as representatives at the NCAA Individual Championships. Lipscomb qualified for the singles tournament for the fourth time in his career and joined Cummins as an advancing doubles duo. This became the tandem's first NCAA appearance as a doubles team but was Lipscomb's second such appearance after qualifying as a freshman with former teammate Mark Bloom.
During the NCAA Individual Championships, both players shined against the high-quality opponents, earning All-America status in each event they participated. With the positive results, Lipscomb became a five-time All-American for the Bulldogs, while Cummins garnered the honor for the first time in his career to highlight his stellar senior season.
In addition, Lipscomb and Cummins both landed on the All-SCIAC First Team, as voted upon the conference head coaches. With this year's award, Lipscomb collected his fourth First-Team nod in as many years, becoming the first Bulldog men's tennis player to accomplish this feat since Jon Flagg in the late 1980s.
Following a pair of Second-Team nods, Cummins joined the First Team in his final year with the Maroon and Gray. Wilson also received recognition with a spot on the All-SCIAC Second Team after a productive season at the No. 3 slot in singles.
Academically, the Bulldogs gained five players on the SCIAC All-Academic Team, as Hunt, Leahy, Lipscomb, Suchodolski, and senior Max Licona (Los Angeles, CA) each received the honor. Furthermore, this quintet represented Redlands men's tennis as ITA Scholar-Athletes due to GPAs of 3.5 or higher for the current term. Finally, the team became an ITA All-Academic Team for exceeding the combined GPA requirement of 3.2.
With an impressive overall record, plenty of individual accolades, and memorable victories, the No. 15 Bulldog men's tennis team put together an impressive chapter in 2014-15 to complement the outstanding history of the program. Although the loss of an incredibly talented and successful senior nucleus requires attention, Redlands looks to the motivational traditions of the program to raise the bar on its expectations for a lucrative future.