The 15th-ranked University of Redlands men's tennis team got back into the win column after a three-match skid with Saturday's hard-fought 5-4 victory over No. 14 University of Texas – Tyler. The Bulldogs garnered a slight 2-1 advantage with dominating wins in doubles and then looked to Nos. 1, 2, and 3 to secure the required points in singles for the overall triumph.
The top tandem of juniors Nick Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) and Teddy Jones (St. Louis, MO) cruised to an 8-1 showing to grab the Bulldogs' first win of the match. The No. 2 duo of juniors Patrick Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) and Gram Leahy (Portland, OR) quickly followed suit with the same result for Redlands' 2-1 lead.
Although UTT cut the deficit in half with a victory at No. 3, the Bulldogs held a small advantage heading into the six singles matches.
After Cummins dominated his No. 2 opponent by scores of 6-0, 6-2, the Patriots responded with a straight-set showing of their own.
However, Lipscomb stepped up at No. 1 to put Redlands ahead once again with his 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Leading 4-2, the Bulldogs needed to prevail in just one of the three remaining matches.
But UTT refused to go away, forcing the competition into a dramatic finish at the No. 3 position. With the match on his racket, freshman Tom Suchodolski (Amherst, MA) came up with the big win in an extended match, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, to secure the deciding point for the Maroon and Gray.
Redlands (5-5) looks forward to another home competition on Wed., March 19, at 3 p.m. when it hosts No. 12 Whitman College (WA) in an exciting in-region showdown.
