The No. 19 University of Redlands men's tennis team finished up the 2014 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament with an impressive 8-1 victory over Chapman University in the fifth-place match on Saturday in Northridge. After a tough start on Friday, the Bulldogs bounced back with two solid wins, culminating in the regular-season finale against the Panthers.
Redlands swept the doubles to take a commanding lead at 3-0. Junior Ted Burchett (Gold River, CA) and freshman Jake Ly (Torrance, CA) initiated the scoring for the Maroon and Gray with an 8-2 decision at the No. 3 slot. Juniors Max Licona (Los Angeles, CA) and Teddy Jones (St. Louis, MO) put together an 8-4 victory at the top spot, before junior Patrick Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) and freshman Tom Suchodolski (Amherst, MA) preserved the sweep with a 9-8(4) effort at No. 2.
In singles, Licona and Jones teamed up again, serving as Redlands' first players to complete their matches while winning in straight sets for the overall match victory. Licona took down his No. 5 foe, 6-4, 6-2, while Jones cruised by his No. 6 opponent by scores of 6-4, 6-1.
With the match already decided in the Bulldogs' favor, the team went on to gain wins by Lipscomb, freshman Parker Wilson (Carlsbad, CA), and Suchodolski.
Redlands (12-12, 6-4 SCIAC) now hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championships, with the announcement taking place on Monday at 4 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.
