University of Oregon
California
Oregon Tripped Up in Quarterfinals at Pac-12 Championships
04/24/15 | Men's Tennis
OJAI, Calif. – No. 50 Oregon won the doubles point, but No. 25 California stormed back to win the match 4-3 with four singles victories in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Championships Thursday afternoon at the Libbey Park Courts in Ojai, Calif. The loss bumps the Ducks' overall record down to 15-9 on the season, and Cal improves to 18-7.
How It Happened: Oregon started off by putting themselves in a position to win by claiming the doubles point. The Ducks' 77th-ranked doubles pair of Daan Maasland and Simon Stevens were tripped up by Cal's Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton 8-3 at the No. 1 spot, but UO was able to respond with two wins on courts two and three.
Daniel Sardu and Joey Swaysland carried their late season momentum into the match today and took care of Filip Bergevi and Mads Engsted 8-4 on court two, and Cormac Clissold and Jayson Amos locked up the point after an 8-5 result over the Golden Bear's Andre Goransson and Oskar Wikberg.
Singles play began with Cal tying up the score at 1-1 after Swaysland fell 6-2, 6-2 on court six, but his fellow Aussie, Clissold, put the Ducks back ahead thanks to a straight-set victory of his own (6-3, 6-2) at the No. 5 spot over J.T. Nishimura.
Court one featured two of the best players in the Pac-12 in No. 115 Maasland and No. 29 Goransson. Maasland jumped out to a lead after winning the first set, but Goransson responded with the next two sets to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The Golden Bears pulled ahead 3-2 when Wikberg pulled out a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 three-set victory over Amos, but the Ducks pulled even with Cal after Sardu provided the grittiest win of the afternoon with a 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 comeback victory over 99th-ranked Filip Bergevi.
Knotted at 3-3, the match came down to court three where Oskar Wikberg and Stevens were locked in a back-and-forth affair. Unfortunately, Stevens fell just short, and Cal won the point and the match with a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 decision.
Impressive Run: If the season is to end for UO, Stevens finishes the dual season with having had arguably the best spring for any UO freshman in school history. The Charleroi, Belgium, native wraps up his first year at Oregon with a 15-1 record in duals and 20-4 mark on the year.
Stevens challenges Amos' stellar freshman campaign last season that saw the now sophomore finish the spring at 20-3, and the overall season 24-5.
Sardu Clutch Win: Even though Oregon lost the match, Sardu shook off a rocky past couple of weeks and earned his first win over a ranked opponent in the spring. He finishes his Oregon career with the third-most singles wins (75) and the second-most doubles victories (71). No doubt about it, Daniel will go down as one of the best players in Oregon tennis history.
Waiting Game: The Ducks will find out if they made the NCAA Tournament as a team on April 28 at 2:30 p.m., and then if any individuals made it the following day at 3 p.m.
No. 4 California 4, No. 5 Oregon 3
Doubles
1. Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (CAL) def. Daan Maasland/Simon Stevens (ORE), 8-3
2. Daniel Sardu/Joey Swaysland (UO) def. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (CAL), 8-4
3. Cormac Clissold/Jayson Amos (UO) def. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (CAL), 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Andre Goransson (CAL) def. Daan Maasland (UO), 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. Daniel Sardu (UO) def. Filip Bergevi (CAL), 2-6, 7-6(), 7-6()
3. Gregory Bayane (CAL) def. Simon Stevens (UO), 4-6, 7-6(), 6-4
4. Oskar Wikberg (CAL) def. Jayson Amos (UO), 3-6, 7-6(), 6-4
5. Cormac Clissold (UO) def. JT Nishimura (CAL), 6-3, 6-2
6. Billy Griffith (CAL) def. Joey Swaysland (UO), 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 2, 3
Players Mentioned
