The No. 18 University of Redlands women's tennis avenged a pair of one-point losses to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by rallying for a 7-2 victory over the sixth-ranked Sagehens in Saturday's third-place match of the 2014 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament. After trailing 1-2 through the doubles matches, the Bulldogs stormed back with a singles sweep en route to the memorable triumph over their conference foes.
The No. 2 tandem of sophomore Natalie Etchegaray (Placentia, CA) and junior Julia Pollak (Holland, PA) captured the Bulldogs' only doubles point, prevailing by a score of 8-4.
In singles, the Maroon and Gray gained a quick point at the No. 6 slot, when senior Paige Press' (La Jolla, CA) opponent retired.
Junior Ceara Sumida (Hilo, HI) put Redlands up by a score of 3-2 with a 6-1, 6-3 decision at No. 3, before senior Jessica Ly (Torrance, CA) came up with a solid 6-4, 6-1 performance over her No. 1 to move her team within one point of the upset.
With an impressive 7-6(6), 6-1 effort at the No. 2 position, Etchegaray then sealed the deal for the Bulldogs' important and exciting win.
Furthermore, sophomore Lauren Villanueva (El Segundo, CA) and freshman Emily Murnin (Salt Lake City, UT) both rallied from a set down to earn three-set wins for the overall tally of 7-2.
This marked Redlands' first triumph over the Sagehens this season, perhaps coming at the most critical time.
With the win, Redlands (13-10, 7-4 SCIAC) remains hopeful for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships, with the announcement coming 4 p.m. on Monday at www.ncaa.com.
