Redlands Women’s Tennis Rebounds with Hard-Fought Win Over Vassar

Source: goredlands.com

The University of Redlands women's tennis team battled in the heat Friday afternoon, pulling out a 4-3 win over No. 26 Vassar College inside the Verdieck Tennis Center.

After a tough loss Thursday when they fell 6-1 against No. 10 Bowdoin College, the Bulldogs were able to add a fourth win to their season.

Redlands took the early doubles point after a strong comeback from being down in their respective sets for both doubles No. 1 and No. 2. At the top spot, juniors Maegan Deng (Torrance) and Lindsey Whelan (Mercer Island, Washington) pulled out a 6-4 victory. Next to them, sophomore Sophia Truong (Arleta, California) and junior Vrishitha Kumar (Mumbai, India) came from behind to grind out a 7-5 win, giving UR the early advantage. The third match at No. 3 consisted of Helaina Reynoso (El Paso, Texas) and senior Eve Laurent (Portland, Oregon), who fell 6-2 in a close set to the Brewers.

The Bulldogs rolled into singles up a point, but that lead soon diminished when Kumar at No. 4 had to retire due to injury. At the time of retirement, her opponent was up 4-1 in the first set. As a result, the Brewers tied things up at 1-1.

On court two, Whelan breezed through both her sets, easily taking down her opponent 6-3, 6-0, putting UR up 2-1. A few minutes later, Deng followed at No. 1, adding yet another victory to her record winning 6-3, 6-0. Combined, Whelan and Deng advanced the Bulldogs to a commanding 3-1 lead. Reynoso at No. 3 had a tough battle with extended games and points, but would ultimately fall 6-1, 6-1.

With the score at 3-2, the final result would come down to the last two singles matches at No. 5 and No. 6. Truong and Laurent would both split sets and were forced to play out full thirds because neither team had clinched yet. Both Truong and Laurent battled for three and a half hours each, two hours longer than their other teammates by comparison.

Truong came back in her third set and powered through the tiebreak, ultimately winning 6-4, 5-7, 7-6. Cheers erupted as the Bulldogs stormed her court with Truong having clinched the match for Redlands. Laurent finished a few minutes later, but after an injury timeout at the beginning of the third set, she was not able to bounce back, falling in a close 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 match.

Redlands returns to the court next Wednesday, March 18, when they host No. 39 Smith College beginning at 4 p.m.