Competing in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition for the first time since March 1, the No. 18 University of Redlands men's tennis team suffered a 2-7 loss to No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Friday afternoon at Verdieck Courts.

In a competitive showdown between respected rivals, the Bulldogs scored first with an 8-4 victory by the No. 2 doubles duo of senior Jeff Hammond (Mercer Island, WA) and junior Keven Wong (Kaneohe, HI).

However, the Stags answered right back with an 8-6 showing at the No. 3 slot.

Finally, in a classic battle, the No. 1 duo of freshman Anish Nanda (Cerritos, CA) and junior Cameron Spearman (Laguna Niguel, CA) edged their counterparts by a score of 9-8(7) to give the Bulldogs a slight 2-1 advantage.

Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived as CMS stormed back to take all of the singles matches. Nanda and Hammond both pushed their opponents to three sets but it was not enough to overcome the No. 5 team in the country.

Redlands (11-9, 2-2 SCIAC) looks to rebound in Saturday's conference match at Whittier College, which begins at 9:30 a.m.

COMPLETE RESULTS