University of Oregon
Arizona State
Sun Devils Burn Ducks, 5-2
04/15/07 | Men's Tennis
EUGENE -- Looking for a second come-from-behind conference win in three days, the Oregon men came up short Sunday afternoon at the Outdoor Tennis Courts.
Doubles proved to be trouble again for the Ducks, as Marcos Verdasco and Fracisco Gallardo made quick work of Arizona State's Juan Carlos Rebaza and Nick Hegarty, winning 8-3, but the Sun Devils evened the score soon after as Wes Miller and Matt Brooklyn dispatched Geoff Embry and Alexander Cornelissen, 8-4.
In the third, and deciding, match Ric Mortera and Mike Myrhead scrapped with the Sun Devil duo of Jack Marsh and T.J. Bellama long after the completion of the other two matches, before finally falling in a tiebreaker, 8-8 (15-13).
The close doubles loss was a critical moment in the match. "I felt like we totally let them off the hook," said director of tennis Nils Schyllander. "We had five match points that we didn't convert, and if we had won that we would have had more confidence, and more momentum going into singles play."
In singles, the Ducks top seeds all suffered losses, as Verdasco and Cornelissen both lost 6-2, 6-1, while Mortera, slotted at No. 3, failed to capitalize after winning the first set, and lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to Wes Miller.
Senior Eric Pickard, in a match that finished well after the outcome was decided, lost a heartbreaker to Arizona State's Souza, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 at the No. 6 spot.
Both Geoff Embry and Mike Myrhead kept up their winning ways from Friday's match, this time needing only two sets to secure their victories. Myrhead defeated Hagart 6-4, 6-2, while Embry dropped Bellama 6-4, 6-4.
With the loss, the Ducks record falls to 10-12 on the season, while Arizona State improves to 12-9.
The Ducks next match is Saturday, April 21st, when they will host Washington. It will be their final match of the season before flying south to Ojai, California for the Pac-10 Championships.
Arizona State 5, Oregon 2
Doubles:
No. 1: Wes Miller/ Matt Brooklyn (Arizona State) def. Geoff Embry/ Alexander Cornelissen (Oregon), 8-4
No. 2: Marcos Verdasco/ Francisco Gallardo (Oregon) def. Juan Carlos Rebaza/ Nick Hegarty(Arizona State), 8-3
No. 3: Jack Marsh/ T.J. Bellama(Arizona State) def. Ric Mortera/Mike Myrhead(Oregon), 8-8 (15-13)
Singles:
No. 1: Rebaza (Arizona State) def. Verdasco (Oregon) 6-2, 6-1
No. 2: Brooklyn (Arizona State) def. Cornelissen (Oregon) 6-2, 6-1
No. 3: Miller (Arizona State) def. Mortera (Oregon) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 4: Embry (Oregon) def. Bellama (Arizona State) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5: Myrhed (Oregon) def. Hagarty (Arizona State) 6-4, 6-2
No. 6: Souza (Arizona State) def. Pickard (Oregon) 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
Players Mentioned
