The 16th-ranked University of Redlands men's tennis team battled it out for third place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship Tournament on Saturday, but came up short against the No. 7 Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen by a tight score of 4-5. 

The Bulldogs garnered an early 2-1 lead with stellar play in doubles, recording solid wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.  Freshmen Nick Cummins (Rancho Mirage, CA) and Teddy Jones (St. Louis, MO) rolled to an 8-3 triumph at the No. 2 slot, while junior Anish Nanda (Cerritos, CA) and freshman Gram Leahy (Portland, OR) stepped up with an 8-5 showing at No. 3, leading to a 2-0 advantage for the Maroon and Gray.

But the Kingsmen came storming back with a 4-1 run in which they collected points at Nos. 1-4 to secure the victory.

For the Bulldogs, freshman Jack Reynolds (Denver, CO) notched a 6-3, 6-2 triumph at No. 5 and junior Darren Dahl (Westlake Village, CA) put together a 7-6(3), 6-2 showing at No. 6. 

In other tournament action, fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges notched its 21st SCIAC championship in men's tennis with a 6-3 victory over No. 9 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.  No. 25 Whittier College came away with a 7-2 showing over Occidental College in the fifth-place contest.

Combining the head-to-head results with the tournament outcomes, CMS earned 14 points, which was three ahead of a tie for second between Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran.  Redlands finished fourth, with Whittier, Occidental, and Caltech following in the standings.

Ranked seventh in the region, Redlands (16-9, 4-5 SCIAC) remains optimistic to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be announced on Monday.