Pacific Travels to Eugene for Ducks' Final Non-conference Match
03/22/15 | Men's Tennis
The Ducks (10-4) will play their final non-conference match of the spring season on Monday, March 23 at 11 a.m. at the Student Tennis Center against the University of the Pacific. The match will be the last contest before Pac-12 play begins for UO on Friday, March 27 with a road match at UCLA at 3 p.m.
Scouting the Tigers
Pacific has struggled to a 4-13 record so far this season, but they have won their last two matches against Navy (4-0) and Saint Mary's (7-0). Head coach Ryan Redondo – who is in his fifth season at Pacific – returns the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, Miguel Diaz. The Castro Valley, Calif., native was 20-11 last season for the Tigers playing at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions.
The Tigers finished last season 13-12 and were knocked out in the WCC semifinals by Pepperdine. Other key contributors for Pacific expect to be Sem Verbeek, a junior from Amsterdam, Netherlands, who has a played on courts one and two so far this spring.
Pacific's top doubles team is Daniel Alameh and Marlon Brand, who were All-WCC second team selections last season. The pair has won their last five doubles matches, including wins over teams from No. 59 San Francisco, Navy and Saint Mary's.
Last Time Out
Oregon began their road trip to Boise, Idaho, with a sound 4-0 defeat of Utah State on March 14. The Ducks won the doubles point and never gave up their lead in what was their second neutral site win of the season. Kevin Farin and Simon Stevens won first in doubles 7-5, and Daniel Sardu and Jayson Amos were right behind them with a 6-4 victory on court three.
Daan Maasland was the first to win in singles to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead, and Amos was close behind with a positive result of his own to put the Ducks within one point of clinching. Farin sealed the match at the No. 1 position with a 6-4, 6-3 win, giving UO the 4-0 victory.
The next day's match was much closer, with No. 74 Boise State winning the doubles point and jumping out to a 1-0 advantage. The Ducks clamped down in singles and ended up winning four of the next five singles matches.
Sardu, Cormac Clissold, Amos and Maasland all recorded victories to give Oregon the 4-2 win. The victory is the first true road win for the Ducks this spring season.
Facing the Tigers Again
The Ducks played Pacific last year in a neutral match in Albuquerque, N.M., and took care of the Tigers 4-0. Farin (6-3, 6-3) and Amos (6-2, 7-5) recorded straight-set wins in singles to help UO nab their seventh win of the season.
Getting Ready for Conference
The Ducks have not shied away from a challenging non-conference schedule with 10 of their first 15 opponents possessing a top-75 ranking in the ITA. Oregon will escape their challenging spring schedule with a 6-4 record against ranked competition, including a 4-0 win over then-No. 36 Alabama.
Strength in 4-5-6 Positions
In total, the Ducks are 26-5 between the three latter singles positions in the spring season. UO's depth at the tail end of the lineup is best shown by Stevens perfect 10-0 record in duals, Clissold's 7-2 mark in the spring, and Sardu's and Amos' nine wins each in dual play.
Regional Rankings
Coming into the spring season, Pacific had two players ranked in the singles portion of the ITA Northwest Regional Rankings. Verbeek received a nod into the top-20 at No. 9, and Alameh was close behind at No. 12. The doubles teams of the Verbeek and Alex Hamilton (No. 5), and Alameh and Brand (No. 9) also received recognition in doubles when the rankings came out on Jan. 6.
Players Mentioned
