Equipped with an elevated ranking of No. 28, the University of Redlands women's tennis team opened Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition with an 8-1 triumph against the Tigers of Occidental College on Friday in Eagle Rock. After sweeping the doubles, the Bulldogs' depth shined through while winning at Nos. 2-6 in singles.
The Maroon and Gray jumped out to a commanding lead by taking all three doubles matches with solid scores. The No. 2 tandem of junior Shannon Cassidy (Yuba City, CA) and freshman Julia Pollak (Holland, PA) initiated the sweep with their 8-2 performance. Freshman Maddie Morton (Henderson, NV) and junior Julia Galbraith (Tacoma, WA) kept the momentum going with an 8-3 victory at No. 3. Finally, the top duo of freshman Ceara Sumida (Hilo, HI) and sophomore Jessica Ly (Torrance, CA) nabbed Redlands' third point with their 8-4 showing.
In singles, the Bulldogs erupted to win five of the six singles matches, four of which came in straight sets.
Sophomore Paige Press (La Jolla, CA) made quick work of her No. 3 opponent as she rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win, while Pollak clinched the team's overall victory with her shutout performance at No. 5.
Sumida, Cassidy and senior Katherine Guimapang (Norwalk, CA) also registered singles wins for the Maroon and Gray.
Prior to today's match, Redlands climbed one spot in the NCAA Division III rankings to No. 28, joining two other SCIAC schools among the nation's best.
The Bulldogs (8-4, 1-0 SCIAC) continue their conference slate with Saturday's 10 a.m. bout with the visiting Leopards of the University of La Verne.
