REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Tennis team ended their 2024 regular season schedule Friday night beating the California Institute of Technology 7-2 inside the Verdieck Tennis center.
The Bulldogs end their regular season 12-6, 5-2 SCIAC, posted a 10-4 home record and have secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming SCIAC Tournament.
Caltech provided some early pushback for the Bulldogs in doubles.
MJ Abarca (Chula Vista, CA) and
Jack Fanshawe (Brisbane, Australia) grabbed the first point at No. 2 winning 8-2. But immediately following the Beavers would tie the match up at 1-1 as
Dominic Anderson (Brisbane, Australia) and
Gustavo Marcanth (Redondo Beach, CA) would fall 8-6 at No. 3.
The decisive point came down to the top teams with
Nico Calixto (Cathedral City, CA) and
Yoav Nir (Tel Aviv, Israel) coming back together to win 8-7 (4) giving UR a 2-1 advantage heading into singles.
That's where the Maroon and Grey did their damage taking five of six matches. Calixto continues his red-hot first season rolling 6-3, 6-2 over Kyle McCandless at the top-spot. Caltech grabbed their second point at No. 4 as
Josh Davydov (Bellevue, WA) would fall in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
After that it was all Bulldogs taking the next four points. Marcanth rebounded from doubles with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 and Nir would grab the clinch at No. 5 pulling out a 6-4, 6-4 decision.
Jax Ledwith was forced to come from behind for another three-setter at No. 6 and he again would grind out another win pulling out the 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory.
The last match on was Anderson at No. 2 who would also need a full three sets. He went out in front quickly rolling 6-1 in the first set but then saw his opponent level things taking the second set 6-4. The third though would go to Anderson who would grab a late break to win 6-3 giving UR the 7-2 conference win at home.
Redlands will now send two athletes, Calixto and
Omar Khayat (Irvine, CA) to the 122
nd Ojai Valley Tournament taking place Friday-Sunday, April 26-28 in Ojai, CA.
