The No. 15 University of Redlands men's tennis team squared off against No. 21 Bates College (ME) on Saturday in a non-conference showdown on Verdieck Courts.  After winning just one of the doubles points, the Bulldogs rallied all the way back to snag a 5-4 victory with an impressive showing in singles.

In doubles, the Bobcats grabbed the first two points with hard-fought wins at Nos. 1 and 2, before Redlands responded with an 8-6 victory by junior Parker Wilson (Carlsbad, CA) and freshman Sawyer Patterson (Burbank, CA) at the No. 3 slot.

The Bulldogs needed to win four of the six singles matches to pull out the comeback. Wilson set the tone early with his flawless 6-0, 6-0 victory at the No. 4 position, before freshman Bryant Johnson (Fair Oaks, CA) prevailed over his No. 3 opponent by scores of 6-4, 6-1. 

Junior Jake Ly (Torrance, CA) remained on his current tear in singles, posting a quality 7-6(6), 6-1 win at No. 6 to put Redlands within one point of the match victory.

With the Bulldogs leading 4-2, graduate student Taylor Hunt (Seattle, WA) stepped up at the No. 5 lot by pushing past his opponent in a pair of tiebreaks, 7-6(5), 7-6(2) to clinch the deciding point.

Redlands (5-0) takes on Christopher Newport University (VA) on Friday, March 4, at 1 p.m. on Verdieck Courts.