CLAREMONT, Calif. – On Wednesday night, the University of Redlands Men's Tennis team traveled to Pomona Pitzer to take on the Sagehens in the SCIAC Tournament Semi-Final. On this side of the bracket, Pomona was seeded No. 2 and Redlands at No. 3.  But by the end of the evening the Bulldogs would fall 4-2, despite putting up a great effort. 

Playoff matches were played to clinch in both doubles and singles, with all unfinished matches requiring a stoppage. In doubles, the Sagehens won the early point when they got the clinch on courts one and two.  The No.1 duo of Vitomir Petcov (Portland, OR) and MJ Abarca (San Diego, CA) fell 6-3 and Sam Parsons (Leamington Spa, England) and Cooper Whittington (Lake Oswego, OR) dropped 6-4. Unfortunately, Jack Hinkle (Bountiful, UT) and Mateen Ghafarshad (Claremont, CA) on the third court were unable to finish, having their match stopped at 4-4.

The Bulldogs had a shot at turning things around in singles after winning the next two points.  However, Pomona grabbed the final three giving them the overall clinch they needed to win.

The first point for the Bulldogs came from No. 3 Abarca who was locked in, making quick work of his opponent 6-0, 6-2. Ghafarshad at No. 6 helped Redlands get their second point of the day in straight sets 6-3, 7-5.

Petcov on the top court went back and forth with the Sagehens in the first set but would fall 7-5, 6-0.  Next to him, at No. 2 Gustavo Marcanth (Redondo Beach, CA) ran into a similar situation putting together a great effort in the first set ultimately falling 7-6 before being broken late in the second in a 6-4 decision. William Pullin (PeachTree City, GA) ended up splitting sets with his opponent at No. 5, winning the first set 6-4 and then falling in the second set 7-5.  He had his opportunities though leading 5-3 in the second with three match points before seeing his opponent rally to tie the match up and go on to take the third set 6-1.    

The only singles match halted was No. 4 Hinkle's due to the clinch. Hinkle had split sets--falling 6-3 in the first set, before coming back to win the second set 7-5.  He was in the third set when play was stopped—down 5-3 on match point for the Sagehens.

Redlands awaits the NCAA Division III National Championship Selection Show, which is next Monday to see if they earn an At-Large bid.