Ephs outlast Redlands 5-4 to improve to 5-0
REDLANDS, CA – Riding a modest four-match win streak that
spanned the fall and spring seasons the Ephs met up with a red hot
University of Redlands team this afternoon under ideal
conditions.
The 11th-ranked U of R Bulldogs sported a record of 13-1, having
won their last four in a row. The 9th-ranked Ephs had to rally from
a 2-1 deficit after doubles play to win 5-4, snapping the U of R
win streak and extending the Eph streak to five.
"It was a gutsy win, but not a pretty win," noted Eph head coach
Dave Donn. "We struggled early and we are not the team we will be
in a month or so. Even so it was good to see us fight for every
point."
Eph singles wins came at 1, 3, 4 and 6. The win by senior
co-captain Dan Greenberg at number one clinched the match.
Greenberg lost the first set to Matt Liebman, but came back to take
the second and third sets by 6-1 scores. Between the second and
third sets Greenberg had to summon a trainer to attend to a blister
on his foot, but even that disruption would not stop him from
leading the Ephs to victory.
Rookie coach Dave Donn practically wore a path in court number
three walking from court one to court five to urge on his team. All
the while Donn was re-arranging his glasses with either one hand,
both hands, adjusting his sleeves and then crossing his arms, only
to be on the move again after a point was settled on one of the
courts.
Donn stated between doubles play and singles play, "it's a dog
fight. This dog fight ended up in the victory column of the Purple
Cows from Williams.
The Ephs concluded the California portion of their spring break
trip and will soon head to Texas where they will meet Trinity
University in San Antonio on March 27th.
Williams 5, University of Redlands 4
Doubles:
1. Eric Wagar/Ransom Cook (UR) def. Bret
Thacher/Greenberg (W) – 9-7
2. Gary Simonette/Nick Lebedoff (W) def.
Mike Reading/Zack Hasenyager (UR) – 8-2
3. Jeff Hammond/Keven Wong (UR) def. Karol
Furmaga/Rick Devlin – 8-5
Singles:
1. Greenberg (W) def. Matt Liebman (UR)
–4-6, 6-1, 6-1
2. Wagar (UR) def. Lebedoff (W) -- 6-1,
3-6,, 6-2
3. Simonette (W) def. Aron Ouye (UR) --
6-4, 6-2
4. Furmaga (W) def. Cook (UR) – 6-2,
6-2
5. Chris Tripple (UR) def. Devlin (W) –
2-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Jeremy Weinberger def. David McCall (UR)
– 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Exhibition:
7. Jeff Hammond (UR) def. Ari Binder (W) – 6-4, 6-2
