The No. 29 University of Redlands women's tennis team put together a gritty effort against the No. 28 Chapman University Panthers on Saturday but fell short in an incredibly even match-up. After facing an early deficit, the Bulldogs clawed their way back to finally fall in the final match of the day, resulting in the 4-5 heartbreaker against the regional foe.

Redlands struck first with a solid 8-3 showing by the No. 3 duo of freshman Maddie Morton (Henderson, NV) and junior Julia Galbraith (Tacoma, WA).

However, Chapman responded with wins at the remaining doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead.

Nonetheless, the Bulldogs refused to go away quietly as sophomore Paige Press (La Jolla, CA) evened the score with her 6-3, 6-2 performance at the No. 4 slot.

As the teams traded punches, sophomore Jessica Ly (Torrance, CA) captured a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 1 and freshman Julia Pollak put the Maroon and Gray in front by defeating her No. 6 opponent, 6-4, 6-2.

But the Panthers came fighting back, surging ahead with tight victories at No. 2 and No. 5, resulting in the 5-4 final tally. Illustrating the incredibly close competition, these two matches required three tiebreakers to determine the winner.

Redlands (6-4) looks forward to battling it out with No. 27 UC Santa Cruz on Wednesday in a regional bout at 4 p.m. on Verdieck Courts.