No. 21 Redlands Women’s Tennis Takes down No. 36 Texas-Tyler in Regional Showdown

Posted: Mar 15, 2016

The No. 21 University of Redlands women's tennis team faced off against regional foe, University of Texas-Tyler, in Tuesday's non-conference showdown on Verdieck Courts. Despite trailing 1-2 after the doubles, the Bulldogs mustered an impressive rally in the singles to capture a 6-3 victory over the Patriots.

Texas-Tyler came out firing in the doubles, earning the first two points with wins at Nos. 2 and 3.

However, the top tandem of seniors Lauren Villanueva (El Segundo, CA) and Natalie Etchegaray (Placentia, CA) answered for the Bulldogs with a hard-fought 8-6 win. In a back-and-forth match, the dynamic duo strung together quality games to surge ahead, as highlighted by the final game on Villanueva's serve. The two teams left it all on the court during the final point, as the teams orchestrated an incredible exchange at the net, with the Maroon and Gray closing it out for the win.

In singles, Redlands faced an uphill battle but stepped up by winning the first five matches off the court.

Freshman Elizabeth Johnson (Portland, OR) established the triumphant tone early with her 6-3, 6-1 showing at the No. 4 slot, while junior Emily Murnin (Salt Lake City, UT) kept things rolling by defeating her No. 2 opponent, 6-2, 7-6(4).

Now leading 3-2, the Bulldogs looked to three competitors to go the distance and win in three sets to secure the overall victory over the Patriots. At the top slot, Etchegaray answered a first-set loss with a pair of efficient sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, before senior Gabriela Vasquez (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) officially put this one in the books with her 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 performance at No. 5.

Furthermore, Villanueva came away with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 showing at the No. 3 position.

Redlands (7-3) hands Texas-Tyler its first loss of the season with today's results. The Bulldogs now look forward to hosting a doubleheader on Saturday, March 19, beginning with fourth-ranked Amherst College (MA) at 11 a.m. Redlands caps off its busy day with the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opener against Occidental College at 3 p.m. on Verdieck Courts.