MTEN/WTEN: Indiana & Purdue/Wazzu & UW recaps

Men’s Tennis

After splitting their road trip at the Illinois schools, the men returned home last weekend to face Indiana and Purdue. On Friday against the Hoosiers the Ducks picked up what would prove to be the critical doubles point from victories by Cameron Burton / Lachlan Robertson and #39 Matthew Burton / Pierre Mouesca (over the #33 nationally ranked pair from Indiana). The first four singles matches were split 2-2 with Oregon’s Matthew Burton and Vlad Breazu earning straight set victories. The fifth match ended in a win for the Hoosiers, tying the overall score at 3-3 with the final match still playing out. Lachlan Roberston rallied back to take the decisive third set on court #5 and win his match 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 for the win.

The Ducks had a day to rest and regroup before playing the Boilermakers on Sunday. The doubles point was hard fought as Purdue easily took the match on court #2 by a 6-1 score. Burton / Robertson triumphed on court #3 by 6-3, meaning the advantage came down to an extra game on court #1. A 7-6 decision in favor of Burton / Mouesca gave the Ducks with the lead 1-0. The first singles match went to Purdue to make the score 1-1 before Mouesca gave the Ducks the lead back. The remaining matches all went to the three sets (including the last, unfinished, match where Sam Olszakowski was ahead in 5-3 in the third set when competition ended.) Russell Soohoo gave Oregon a 3-1 lead, but Purdue was able to take a second match to keep a slim path to a comeback. It required an extended match with scores of 5-7, 6-2, and 7-5 but Matthew Burton closed out the meet with a win to carry the Day for the Ducks 4-2.

Women’s Tennis

Having also split a road trip (against two ranked teams in Maryland and Rutgers), the women’s team also played in Eugene this past weekend, opening against familiar (now non-conference) opponent #61 Washington State. Oregon was in control from the beginning, taking the doubles point 2-0 thanks to Patsy Daughters / Bridget Mihulka and Tilde Jagare / Olivia Symons. The Cougars never had a chance to even make the competition competitive as the Ducks took three singles matches to end play with a 4-0 shutout. Daughters, Hinata Furutani, and Mihulka all dispatched their opponents in straight sets.

Oregon hoped to carry their momentum into a Saturday meet with Big Ten rival #17 washington, but the Huskies would prove to be harder to tame. The undefeated visitors took the doubles point 2-0, and the Ducks were trailing in the third (unfinished) match. The northern school didn’t let up in singles play, extending their lead to 3-0 with a pair of straight set victories. Viriginia Crocker prevented a shutout with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 come-from-behind win. Daughters, Mihulka, and Jagare all at least managed to play to a third set. Daughter’s defeat ended competition as Mihulka was trailing in her third set 1-4, while Jagare and her (ranked) opponent only finished splitting their first two sets.

Both tennis teams have shown so far this season an ability to close out close matches against conference opponents that was lacking last year. Success in doubles play has been the difference for both. The men have a better overall record at this point, 12-3 as opposed to 10-5, but the women have played considerably more ranked opponents and have been rewarded with a #64 rank of their own. Each team can boast ranked wins as we enter the second half of march. The women travel to #41 Iowa on Friday then move on to play at Nebraska on Sunday. The men will be able to concentrate on only a single opponent as they travel to Seattle on Saturday and look to avenge their counterparts.