The 15th-ranked University of Redlands men's tennis team continued its challenging slate of non-conference foes with Wednesday's showdown against No. 12 Whitman College (WA) on Verdieck Courts.  The Bulldogs faced an early deficit but rallied to take a 4-3 lead before coming up just short in a 4-5 decision.

In doubles, the No. 3 duo of junior Ted Burchett (Gold River, CA) and freshman Jake Ly (Torrance, CA) rattled of a solid 8-4 victory to put the Maroon and Gray on the board.

But the Missionaries stormed back by winning the next two matches to take a 2-1 lead in the team scoring.

Faced with a minor deficit, the Bulldogs mustered a comeback by winning three of the first four singles matches to come off the courts.  After dropping a straight-set decision at No. 4, Redlands looked to junior Nick Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) to change the tide with his 6-2, 6-4 victory at the No. 2 slot.  The momentum stayed with the Maroon and Gray when junior Gram Leahy (Portland, OR) prevailed at No. 6 by scores of 7-6(5), 6-3.  Finally, junior Patrick Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) quickly followed suit by defeating his No. 1 counterpart, 6-4, 6-4.

Now leading 4-3, Redlands just needed one of the two final matches to pull out the upset.  However, the visiting team halted the comeback with straight-set wins at Nos. 3 and 5.

Wednesday's match marked the Maroon and Gray's fourth consecutive outcome that was decided by one point in the team scoring. 

The Bulldogs (5-6) kick off Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition on Saturday when they travel to Eagle Rock for a 10 a.m. match against Occidental College.  The team then returns to Verdieck Courts to face No. 4 Amherst College (MA) at 3 p.m. that day.