Chapman falls to No. 8 Redlands in second round

CLAREMONT, Calif. -  The University of Redlands women's tennis team earned a sweep of all three doubles matches on its way to a 5-0 victory over Chapman University in the second round of the NCAA Division III women's tennis team championships at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Saturday. As a result, the Panthers were eliminated from team competition ending a season in which they were ranked in the top-25 in the nation all year long.

Chapman's best hope at upsetting the No. 8 team in Division III on a neutral court was the play of No. 22-ranked doubles team Liz Lewis and Kelley Fox. However, the Bulldogs tandem of Paige Sumida and Whitney Waters kept the Panthers in check, handing Chapman's sophomore duo an 8-4 defeat for just the sixth time this season.

The Panthers also dropped the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches by scores of 8-2 and the Bulldogs were on their way to advancing.

Lewis and Fox both led their opponents in singles play before the match was called. Also, junior Manon Pochet and sophomore Sheehan Trippel were leading the second sets of their individual matches. However, straight sets victories in the No. 4 and No. 6 singles matches gave Redlands the five points it needed to clinch the win.

Chapman (10-7) has reached the playoffs three years in a row.

Doubles:
1. Sumida/Waters (R) def. Lewis/Fox (C) 8-4
2. Wakamatsu/Yoshinaga (R) def. Pochet/Sirois (C) 8-2
3. Miller/Damiani (R) def. Kelly Perryman/Kaiden (C) 8-2

Singles:
1. Elizabeth Lewis (C) led Rachael Miller (R) 6-4, 4-5
2. Kelley Fox (C) led Paige Sumida (R) 6-4, 3-3
3. Tori Damiani (R) led Manon Pochet (C) 7-6(5), 0-3
4. Sara Yoshinaga (R) def. Cassady Sirois (C) 6-4, 6-1
5. Kaleena Wakamatsu (R) led Sheehan Trippel (C) 7-6(4), 1-4
6. Kristen Hunnicutt (R) def. Roxanne Kaiden (C) 6-2, 6-4