CLAREMONT, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Tennis team was knocked out of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament Thursday falling 5-2 to Pomona-Pitzer in the Semi-Finals.
The Bulldogs drop to 10-7, 5-2 SCIAC, while the Sagehens improved to 16-5, while holding their No. 3 National Ranking.
It was a great start for the Maroon and Grey taking a 2-1 lead after doubles.
Gabby Rockwood (Park City, UT) and
Ryana Sugai (Las Vegas, NV) held on for an 8-6 win at No. 3 giving the U of R a quick point. Pomona-Pitzer though responded with a win at No. 2 as
Kiana Brady (Hermosa Beach, CA) and
Christine O'Brien (Leawood, KS) would fall 8-3.
The decisive point came at the top-spot in an upset win by
Maegan Deng (Redondo Beach, CA) and
Livi Rockwood (Park City, UT) who would beat the top Sagehen duo in a breaker 8-7 (8).
In singles the momentum did not carry over as the Sagehens would rally for four straight wins to come from behind. Sugai fell at No. 2 6-3, 6-0, Deng lost at No. 1 6-1, 6-0,
Deja Brown (San Diego, CA) fell at No. 6 6-1, 6-2 and L. Rockwood would drop in straight sets at No. 3 6-3, 6-1.
The other two matches on when the decision was clinched included Brady at No. 4 who was down a set and on serve in the second 5-7, 4-3 and G. Rockwood at No. 5 who was also down a set and on serve at 2-6, 3-4.
Redlands waits to see if they earn an At-Large bid into the NCAA Division III National Championships. The NCAA Selection show will be next week and further details to be provided on goredlands.com. The NCAA Regionals will take place May 10-12 and the NCAA Championships May 20-27.
