Bulldog Tennis Dominates Occidental in Saturday Sweep

By David James Heiss

Redlands News Collective

Photos via goredlands.com

Junior Vrishitha Kumar was the clincher for the women's sweep and a winner in both singles and doubles

Sophomore Jack Hinkle’s 15-minute first set was the lead-off stat of the men's singles.

REDLANDS, Calif. — The University of Redlands men’s and women’s tennis teams extended their respective winning streaks to three matches Saturday, defeating Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Occidental College at the Verdieck Tennis Center.

The women’s team (9-7, 2-1 SCIAC) completed a 7-0 sweep of the Tigers, carrying momentum from a victory over UC Santa Cruz the previous day.

Redlands secured the doubles point with wins from sophomores Maisy Reynoso, Jasmine Sheets (6-0) and Sophia Truong and junior Vrishitha Kumar (6-2). In singles play, the Bulldogs won all six matches in straight sets. Kumar provided the clinching point at No. 4 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. Junior Lindsey Whelan earned a hard-fought win at No. 2, taking a second-set tiebreaker to finish 6-2, 7-6.

On the men’s side, the Bulldogs (8-8, 2-1 SCIAC) earned a 6-1 victory. Redlands swept the doubles competition, with the No. 2 pairing of junior Cooper Whittington and senior Tyler Pyle securing the point with a 6-3 win.

In singles, Jack Hinkle gave Redlands an early cushion at the No. 4 spot, winning 6-0, 6-3 in a match that saw him take the opening set in 15 minutes. Junior Gustavo Marcanth recorded the dual-match clinch at No. 2 singles with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Occidental’s lone point came at No. 3 singles, where junior MJ Abarca fell 6-2, 6-4.

Both Redlands teams return to action Friday, April 10 at 5 p.m. to host Caltech at the Verdieck Tennis Center.