REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Tennis team needed a couple days to pick up their second straight upset win over a nationally ranked opponent.
Saturday the Maroon and Grey wrapped up a 6-3 win over No. 25 Christopher Newport after seeing the match suspended due to inclement weather Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs improve to 2-1 on the season and have now upset No. 18 Mary Washington and now No. 25 Christopher Newport making a case for themselves as the Division III national rankings are set to be released on March 10.
Redlands saw themselves in a 2-1 hole after doubles despite giving the Captains all they could handle. The No. 2 team of Thomas Reznik (Belmont, CA)and Donovan Lilov (San Diego, CA) were filthy cruising to the 8-1 victory putting UR on the board. The No. 3 team of Josh Nelson (Montrose, NY) and Jack Mattox (Mercer Island, WA) put up a fight at No. 3, but couldn't make a late push falling 8-4, bringing the advantage to the top spot of Stefan Hester(Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) and Andrew Yip (Honolulu, HI).
Hester and Yip started off strong but had to go the distance at No. 1, eventually falling 8-7 (5) giving CNU the 2-1 edge
In singles it was competitive on all six courts, but the standout match came at the top from Hester who carried over his strong play from yesterday's victory winning 6-4, 6-1 leveling the match at 2-2. When play resumed in singles the Bulldogs led in three of five matches and at the end of the day they came away with four victories.
CNU was able to regain the advantage quickly with a win at No. 2 singles (6-3, 6-1), but that would be the lone point given up by UR as they would sweep the other matches. Mattox tied things up with a solid 6-4, 6-2 sweep at No. 3, Max Hoffman (Taipei, Taiwan) in his first start impressed at No. 6 rolling to the 6-4, 6-1 victory, and Lilov would grab the clinch pulling out a three-setter 6-0, 3-6, 7-5, at No. 4 fighting off two match points to grab the win.
The last point on the day, which was insurance was at No. 5 from Nelson who also needed a third set. After splitting the first two frames 7-5, 5-7, he was up 2-0 in the third before his opponent had to retire due to injury giving Redlands their sixth point on the afternoon.
Redlands returns to the courts, Wednesday, March 9 looking to carry this momentum into a match-up with Vassar beginning at 3:00pm.
Coach's Thoughts
"The men came out firing after their match delay and were able to get off to a quick start from where they left off a day ago. I am very proud of how they handled the tricky conditions and fought off a tough Christopher Newport squad. We had to fight for every point after going down 2-1 after doubles, but the guys handled the pressure well. We are excited to secure back to back wins against nationally ranked opponents."
Coach's Shoutout
"Donovan Lilov pulled out a huge third set victory, clinching the win for the Bulldogs after saving two match points. He was brave in the big moments and it paid off tremendously. I am really happy for him and his victory!"
