The University of Redlands men's tennis team competed in the 2016 Fall ITA Regional Tournament in Claremont on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, earning positive results along the way. Sophomore Chase Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) highlighted the Bulldogs' solid outing with his semifinal appearance in the main singles draw.
Equipped with a tournament seeding of fourth, Lipscomb knocked off Avinash Vemuri of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the first round by scores of 6-3, 6-3. He put together a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over Samuel Gearou of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, before edging CMS' Julian Gordy in a barn-burner, 7-6(4), 7-6(4). He made his way into the semifinal with a 6-3, 7-6(3) effort against Maxwell Macey, also of CMS. His impressive undefeated streak came to an end against Nikola Parodi by scores of 6-2, 6-2.
In addition, freshman Avery Davis (Jensen Beach, FL) impressed in his collegiate debut by registering a 6-0, 6-1 win against Colorado College's Jason Gutierrez, before defeating Spencer Chiu of Pomona-Pitzer by scores of 6-3, 7-6(7). Unfortunately, he also came up short against Parodi in a 6-4, 6-0 loss in the round of 16.
Senior Jake Ly (Torrance, CA), senior Parker Wilson (Carlsbad, CA), and junior Joey Dulle (St. Louis, MO) all made it to the round of 16 of the main singles draw as well. Ly recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win over Joshua Kim of Pomona-Pitzer and then cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 showing against Cal Lutheran University's Ransom Braaten. Wilson came out on top of a 6-3, 6-0 result over Pomona-Pitzer's Kalyan Chadalayada, before defeating Chapman University's Charlie Werman, 6-1, 7-6(0). Dulle grabbed a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Chapman's Rasmus Helms in the first round and then defeated Thomas Koszowski of Whittier College, 6-3, 6-0, in the next.
Furthermore, freshman Andrew Leahy (Claremont, CA) gained valuable experience with a strong showing in the consolation singles draw, advancing all the way to the semifinals. After Gutierrez withdrew, Leahy knocked off Josh Starsfield of Chapman by scores of 6-0, 6-0. He went on to defeat UC Santa Cruz's Ryan Dugan in a 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 thriller.
In doubles, Lipscomb and freshman Brad Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) won their way into the quarterfinals of the main draw with impressive results. The duo posted an 8-2 showing over Trevor Brown and Cameron Coe of Occidental College, before taking down CMS' Alfred Simental and Jake Williams by a score of 8-5. Lipscomb and Cummins blew by CMS' Matthew Jacobs and Jay Yeam in a zone-like experience, as the Bulldogs put up an 8-0 decision. Unfortunately, their steam ran out in the semifinal, as the tandem fell to Gordy and Daniel Morkovine, also from CMS.
Redlands looks forward to the spring portion of its season, beginning with the Azusa Pacific University on Saturday, February 4, at 11 a.m.
