Redlands Tennis Clinches Pair of Victories Against Caltech Despite Weather Delays
The University of Redlands men’s and women’s tennis teams overcame multiple weather delays Monday night to secure a pair of home victories against Caltech at the Verdieck Tennis Center.
Photo by Emmerson Wright
Junior Vrishitha Kuma secured the fifth point after a four-hour marathon.
The matches, originally rescheduled due to inclement weather the previous week, were again hampered by the elements. Play was halted first for lightning and later for rain, forcing players to warm up multiple times mid-match.
Women’s Tennis: Redlands 5, Caltech 4 The Bulldog women (Redlands) jumped to an early lead by taking two of three doubles matches. Juniors Maegan Deng and Lindsey Whelan cruised to a 6-1 win at the top spot, while the sophomore duo of Maisy Reynoso and Jasmine Sheets secured a 6-2 victory at No. 3.
Singles play was complicated by the lightning delay at the end of the first sets and a rain delay during the third frames. Despite the interruptions, Deng remained dominant at No. 1, winning 6-2, 6-0. Whelan added a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 2 to bring the Bulldogs within reach of the clinch.
The final three matches all pushed to three sets. Reynoso battled back after the rain delay to secure a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win at No. 3. After four hours of play, junior Vrishitha Kumar provided the deciding fifth point at No. 4, rallying from a first-set deficit to win 2-6, 7-6, 7-5.
Men’s Tennis: No. 28 Redlands 6, No. 37 Caltech 1 The men’s team made quick work of the Beavers, sweeping doubles play to claim the inaugural point. Jack Hinkle and Mateen Ghafarshad won 6-4 at No. 3, followed by a 6-4 win from Sam Parsons and Cooper Whittington at No. 2. Vitomir Petcov and MJ Abarca capped the sweep with a 6-3 win at the No. 1 position.
Photo by Emmerson Wright
Freshman William Pullin put the first singles point on the board for the men.
In singles, freshman William Pullin stayed sharp through the lightning delay, putting Redlands on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5. The match was clinched simultaneously on courts No. 4 and No. 1, as Hinkle (6-3, 6-1) and Petcov (6-2, 6-4) finished their matches at the exact same moment.
Abarca added to the total with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 2, while Ghafarshad ground out a 7-6, 6-0 victory at No. 6 to complete the scoring for the Bulldogs.
Up Next Both teams return to the Verdieck Tennis Center this Saturday, April 18, for a SCIAC dual against Chapman University. The men are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the women at 2 p.m.