Ducks Face So Cal Schools To Kick Off Pac-12 Competition

The Oregon men's tennis team will kick off Pac-12 play on the road when they take on No. 15 UCLA on Friday, March 27 at noon, and then No. 6 USC on Saturday, March 28 also at noon. Friday's match against the Bruins will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

Watch UCLA Match
Live Stats - UCLA

Watch USC Match
Live Stats - USC

Scouting the Bruins and Trojans
Currently 9-6 on the season, UCLA enters the weekend with having played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. 14 of UCLA's 15 non-conference opponents are currently ranked in the top 75 of the ITA's team rankings.

Most recently, the Bruins have won three of their last four matches, including wins over No. 43 Stanford (5-2), No. 27 Tulsa (5-0) and No. 72 UNLV (6-1). Their loss came to their crosstown rival, No. 6 USC (4-1).

UCLA is led by the No. 4 singles player in the country, Mackenzie McDonald. The sophomore is 24-4 on the year, including a 10-1 mark playing at the No. 1 position in duals. Dennis Mkrtchian comes into the week ranked No. 26, and Martin Redlicki is No. 121.

Redlicki and McDonald pair together at the No. 1 doubles position – they are the No. 7 team in the country – and are 16-4 on the season.

USC is 13-4 with having played just as challenging a schedule as UCLA. The Trojans lost in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships to No. 1 Oklahoma (4-2), but defeated the likes of No. 10 Ohio State (4-1) in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Georgia (4-1) in the semifinals to reach that point.

The Trojans are bolstered by two top-20 singles players in No. 9 Yannick Hanfmann and No. 19 Roberto Quiroz. In total, all six of USC's everyday singles players are in the ITA's top 125 in singles; Jonny Wang checks in at No. 35, Max de Vroome is No. 66, Nick Crystal is right behind him at No. 68 and Eric Johnson rounds out the group at No. 114.

Quiroz and Hanfmann make up the No. 3 doubles team in the country, and Johnson and de Vroome clock in at No. 53.

USC won the NCAA National Championship last season with a 4-2 victory over Oklahoma. They have won five out of the last six national championships.

Last Time Out
The Ducks competed earlier this week on Monday and took care of the University of the Pacific 7-0 at home at the Student Tennis Center. All six of the Ducks recorded straight-set wins in singles, and Simon Stevens provided the match clincher with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court three over the Tigers' Jose Chamba.

Oregon won the doubles point behind wins from Daniel Sardu and Jayson Amos on court three by a score of 6-1, and then Daan Maasland and Joey Swaysland sealed the point with a 6-4 result at the No. 1 spot.

Maasland, Sardu, Amos, Cormac Clissold and Swaysland all joined Stevens in winning in singles and helping UO secure an 11-4 record at the end of non-conference play.

Potential to Make History
The Ducks defeated their highest ranked ITA opponent in school history last season when they took down No. 15 Boise State 5-2 on March 2, 2014. The Ducks will have an opportunity to tie that mark against No. 15 UCLA, and then potentially improve upon it on Saturday against No. 6 USC.

Four Ducks Over 15 Wins
Oregon is bolstered by four players who all have more than 15 singles wins on the year; Amos (18-7), Sardu (16-3), Stevens (16-3) and Maasland (16-6). All four Ducks have at least 10 wins in spring singles play.

Freshmen Impact
A freshman from Charleroi, Belgium, Stevens is currently riding an 11-match winning in streak in singles during dual matches this season. Seven of his wins have come on court five, four have come via court four and his most recent victory was earned on court three.

Clissold – a freshman from New South Wales, Australia – is 8-2 in the spring, with most of his victories coming on court six (5-2). He is currently riding a two-match winning streak.

Senior Leader
One of just two seniors on the team, Sardu sports a 10-1 singles record in spring duals, with his only loss coming on the road at No. 43 Louisville. With 74 career singles wins, the Sopron, Hungary, is ranked as the third-most winningest singles player in Oregon history.

Schyllander's Plan
Currently coaching in his ninth season as the head coach of the Oregon men's tennis team, Nils Schyllander has a 114-93 record. After going 53-64 in his first five years with the program, Schyllander has since gone 61-29 in the three and a half years since then.

Last year, he led the Ducks to their first NCAA Championship appearance since 2004, and also earned Wilson/ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year honors. He is one of two coaches in ITA history to be named regional coach of the year for both a men's and women's team.

Non-Conference Work
Oregon finished the non-conference portion of their season with an 11-4 record. The Ducks finished the season with a 6-4 record against opponents ranked in the top 75 of the ITA team rankings, including a 4-0 win over No. 36 Alabama.

Pair of Fall Titles
The Ducks won two singles tournament titles this past fall at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic and the Pacific Northwest Intercollegiate. Sardu knocked off then-No.123 Ace Matias of UNLV to claim the flight one singles title at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic, and Maasland won the Pacific Northwest Intercollegiate flight one singles title.

As a whole, Oregon finished the fall season 38-29 in singles and 9-10 in doubles. Amos led the Ducks with an 8-3 record, Sardu was 6-2, both Stevens and Maasland were 5-3, and Kevin Farin was 4-2.

The team of Maasland and Swaysland led the Ducks in doubles with a 3-1 record.