The No. 15 University of Redlands men's tennis team competed on the road for only the second time this season, earning a 7-2 victory over the Whittier College in Friday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown. After earning a 2-1 lead through the doubles, the Bulldogs prevailed in five of the six singles matches, with all victories coming in straight sets.
The top tandem of junior Jake Ly (Torrance, CA) and sophomore Joey Dulle (St. Louis, MO) fired off an 8-5 victory to get things rolling for the Maroon and Gray, before freshman Chase Lipscomb (Irvine, CA) and junior Parker Wilson (Carlsbad, CA) registered an 8-6 showing at the No. 2 slot.
Although the Poets grabbed a victory at No. 3, the Bulldogs quickly responded in singles by winning the first four matches off the court to seal the deal. Ly dismissed his No. 4 opponent in a 6-0, 6-2 performance, while sophomore Cooper Lacetera (Westhampton Beach, NY) cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory at the No. 5 slot. Graduate student Taylor Hunt (Seattle, WA) provided the deciding point for the Maroon and Gary with his 6-0, 6-3 win at the No. 6 position, as Wilson kept the momentum with the Bulldogs by recording a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the No. 3 slot.
In addition, Lipscomb came up with the goods by defeating his No. 1 counterpart by scores of 6-3, 6-2.
Redlands (12-3, 2-0 SCIAC) returns home to Verdieck Courts on Saturday, March 26, for a non-conference doubleheader. The Bulldogs take on No. 22 Tufts University (MA) at 10 a.m., before battling it out with 14th-ranked Williams College (MA) at 2 p.m.
