REDLANDS, CA — A day after claiming their first win of their spring break trip to the west coast, the Ephs looked to continue to build off the experience they've gained from the previous five days, as they squared off against a formidable seventeenth-ranked Redlands opponent. And their experience paid off, as the Ephs claimed a respectable 6-3 victory over the Bulldogs, on the back of outstanding play from two freshmen, Sachin Raghavan and Brian Grodecki.
The pair combined for half of the Ephs' point total on the day, claiming crucial wins at three-doubles and four-singles, including the match-clinching point at six-singles.
After the match, Eph head coach Dan Greenberg noted the strong performances by his first-years: "The rookies really came up huge today…getting us three huge points, including the point that clinched the match. It shows the progress we've made this first week [of spring break]."
The Ephs once again relied on their strong doubles play to give them an early advantage in dual, as they also managed to take a point at one-singles through the promoted Eph pairing of junior Jose Raventos and sophomore Rohan Shastri, as they downed senior Bulldogs Patrick Lipscomb and Nick Cummins in a tightly contested match where the Ephs prevailed 8-5.
That point, combined with Grodecki and Raghavan's point at the number three position gave the Ephs the 2-1 lead going into the singles portion.
In the singles portion it was the back-end of the lineup that really came up clutch for the Ephs, as the Bulldogs took no points from three- through six-singles.
Eph junior Howard Weiss was the first Eph off the court with a win, as he showed resilience to hold off Bulldog freshman Joey Dulle, as he made a surge late in the first set to level the score. Weiss, however held firm, closing out the first set 6-4, before blanking Dulle in the second set.
The next two wins both came from the freshmen, Raghavan and Grodecki, as each battled their matches out to the same scoreline of 6-4, 6-4 against Bulldog juniors Taylor Hunt and Gram Leahy respectively, clinching the match for the Ephs.
Eph sophomore Conrad Harron would add on a sixth point for good measure, as he outlasted freshman Parker Wilson in a third-set tiebreaker, 12-10.
Greenberg commented further after the match regarding his team's growing mental toughness: "This is an important win for us today. Redlands is a really tough team in doubles and in singles, and we were able to play solid throughout the match and hold on at the end of sets."
The Ephs now have a day off after a span of five matches in six days, and they will take their two-match winning streak into Santa Barbara on Monday and test themselves against Vestment College. That match is set to get underway at 4:30 PM EDT.
Williams 6, Redlands 3
1. Lipscomb, Patrick (REDLANDS) def. Raventos, Jose (WILLIAMS) 6-3, 6-2
2. Cummins, Nick (REDLANDS) def. Shastri, Rohan (WILLIAMS) 7-6(3), 6-3
3. Harron, Conrad (WILLIAMS) def. Wilson, Parker (REDLANDS) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0(10)
4. Raghavan, Sachin (WILLIAMS) def. Hunt, Taylor (REDLANDS) 6-4, 6-4
5. Weiss, Howard (WILLIAMS) def. Dulle, Joey (REDLANDS) 6-4, 6-0
6. Grodecki, Brian (WILLIAMS) def. Leahy, Gram (REDLANDS) 6-4, 6-4
1. Raventos, Jose/Shastri, Rohan (WILLIAMS) def. Lipscomb, Patrick/Cummins, Nick (REDLANDS) 8-5
2. Leahy, Gram/Burchett, Ted (REDLANDS) def. Astrachan, Brian/Harron, Conrad (WILLIAMS) 8-2
3. Raghavan, Sachin/Grodecki, Brian (WILLIAMS) def. Dulle, Joey/Ly, Jake (REDLANDS) 8-4
Match Notes:
Williams 3-3, nationally ranked #14, regionally ranked #3
Redlands 12-6, nationally ranked #17, regionally ranked #5
