REDLANDS, Calif. - Looking for the first win of its spring break trip, the No. 19 Whitman College men's tennis team tasted defeat again, falling at No. 34 Redlands University 5-4, Friday at Verdieck Courts.

The Blues (5-9) did lead early though, notching the opening point with a win at second doubles. Ben Kirsh and Daniel Foster took down the Bulldog pair of Thomas Reznik and Andrew Yip 8-3, but Whitman would then drop its matches on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts. Both were competitive contests, the closest being at the one where Alex Hwang and Andreas Mueller-Immergluck fell to the Redlands pair of Brad Cummins and Brysl Libao.

The Bulldogs (6-2) jumped into the driver's seat, winning the first result of singles play to go up 3-1. Adam Rapoport would keep the Blues in the match though with a 7-6, 6-0 sweep at the three over Cummins to make it a 3-2 match.

The next two results, however, would go to Redlands as the Bulldogs clinched the win with two matches left to complete. Libao's 6-4, 6-1 win over Mueller-Immergluck on the No. 5 court was the match-clincher.

The Blues did pick up a pair of impressive singles wins to close the day. Hwang at the four, and Rajul Chikkalingaiah at the six both rallied from a set down against their Bulldog counterparts to win in three sets.

The Blues remain in Southern California for one more match before returning to Northwest Conference play next month. Whitman plays at CalTech on Saturday, March 23 at 10:00 a.m.