The No. 14 Bulldog men's tennis team hosted the No. 11 Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges during Senior Day at Verdieck Courts but came up short in the celebratory send-off for Mark Bloom (San Juan Capistrano, CA) and Michael Jacobson (Chicago, IL). While utilizing six freshmen within the lineup, the Bulldogs challenged their opponents at every slot, leading to the tightly contested results in the 3-6 loss.
The Bulldogs gained their only doubles victory by the rookie duo of Nick Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) and Teddy Jones (St. Louis, MO), who prevailed in a tiebreak, 9-8(5), at the No. 2 slot.
Going into the singles with a 1-2 deficit, Redlands gave up its first of four three-setters at the No. 4 position before Cummins completed the individual sweep with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 dismissal of his No. 2 opponent.
Still trailing, the Bulldogs looked to another solid performance by freshman Jack Reynolds (Denver, CO) at the No. 6 spot, where he cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win.
Tied at three apiece, Redlands needed two of the three remaining matches to capture the upset.
However, the Sagehens went the distance in three sets to prevail at all three slots.
Redlands (15-7, 3-3 SCIAC) currently sits fourth among the top-heavy conference that includes five teams ranked among the nation's top 20. The Bulldogs head to the Ojai Tournament for high-caliber competition against west regional foes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.