The No. 16 Bulldog men's tennis team captured a solid 6-2 victory over 18th-ranked Cal Lutheran University during Friday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) contest on Verdieck Courts. With bitter winds and the threat of rain demanding an efficient match, Redlands stepped up to the challenge by winning five of the first six points en route to the important triumph.
The Bulldogs captured a 3-0 advantage after doubles with the top duo of seniors Cameron Spearman (Laguna Niguel, CA) and Jeff Casserd coming back to secure the sweep with an exciting 9-7(5) performance.
The No. 2 tandem of junior Mark Bloom (San Juan Capistrano, CA) and sophomore Connor Hyde (Peterborough, NH) initiated the scoring with an impressive 8-2 victory, while seniors Jeff Hammond (Mercer Island, WA) and Keven Wong (Kaneohe, HI) took down their No. 3 counterparts, 8-5.
Momentum stayed with the Bulldogs as Wong shut out his No. 5 opponent for Redlands' fourth point.
However, the Kingsmen responded with a solid showing at the No. 2 slot, making the overall score 4-1 in favor of the Maroon and Gray.
Nonetheless, with the weather becoming more ominous, Redlands' sophomore Darren Dahl (Westlake Village, CA) closed out the match with a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 4.
The squads split the next two points before rain halted the No. 1 singles showdown between Spearman and CLU's Andrew Giuffrida. Last season, Spearman handed this Kingsmen opponent his only SCIAC loss of the season.
Redlands (10-10, 3-1 SCIAC) heads to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday for a conference bout against the third-ranked Stags at 1 p.m.
