The No. 18 University of Redlands men's tennis team posted a 7-2
victory over No. 26 Whitman College (WA) in a regional showdown on
Tuesday afternoon on Verdieck Courts. The Bulldogs nearly swept the
doubles but settled for two victories before extinguishing any
comeback efforts by the Missionaries with wins in five of the six
singles.
The No. 2 doubles duo of senior Jeff Hammond (Mercer Island, WA)
and junior Keven Wong (Kaneohe, HI) secured Redlands' first point
with their impressive 8-2 performance.
Sophomore Lander Jewett (Helena, MT) and freshman Conor Hyde
(Peterborough, NH) teamed up at the No. 3 slot to defeat their
opponents by a score of 8-5, giving Redlands a 2-0 lead.
In a classic epic battle at No. 1, Whitman clawed back to
eventually prevail in a tiebreak, 9-8(6).
Senior Matt Liebman (Westport, CT) jumped out the gates with a
solid 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles, giving Redlands a 3-1
advantage.
Hyde followed Liebman's lead by quickly taking down his No. 6
opponent, 6-1, 6-1.
Needing just one more point to secure the team victory, the
Bulldogs looked to freshman Taylor Chaparro (Burlingame, CA) to
come up with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5.
With the match decided, Whitman snagged its second point at the
No. 1 spot before Hammond and Spearman posted victories at No. 4
and No. 2, respectively, making the final tally 7-2.
Redlands (10-6) faces another nationally ranked opponent in No.
4 Middlebury College (VT) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. on Verdieck
Courts.
COMPLETE RESULTS
