Ducks Earn First NCAA Bid in 10 Years
05/02/17 | Women's Tennis
EUGENE, Ore. – The University of Oregon women's tennis team has earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will head to Athens, Ga. on May 13 for the first round against North Carolina State.
This is Oregon's (14-10) first NCAA appearance in 10 years and marks the 20th year anniversary of the team's first NCAA berth. The Ducks will be joined by first round opponent No. 2 seed NC State (18-10), host No. 1 seed Georgia (17-5)/No. 5 seed nationally, and No. 4 seed South Carolina State (9-10).
To view the full NCAA Tournament bracket, click here - http://on.ncaa.com/2pFXLpV
"It's a privilege to be competing in the 2017 NCAA tournament," said head coach Alison Silverio. "This was one of the goals we set to accomplish. Our team has been committed to the process and preparation since fall. I am not surprised we have placed ourselves in this successful position, because we have been taking care of the details both physically and mentally. The courage our team has showed throughout this year during challenges and adversity is inspiring, and I am confident we will be bringing the same commitment, belief, and resiliency into postseason. I am filled with joy for our program and proud of our team's tireless work ethic. The best is yet to come!"
Seven Pac-12 women's teams earned bids to the championships including UCLA, Cal, Washington, Arizona State, USC, and Stanford.
Oregon's record of 14-10 is the program's best finish since the 2005-06 season (14-9), when the team finished seventh in the conference standings.
With six conference wins in the regular season (6-4), the Ducks earned the team's best Pac-12 record since the 2004-05 season (5-6).
For the first time in program history, the Ducks defeated both USC and UCLA in the same season. Oregon upset the No. 4 seeded Bruins in the Pac-12 championship quarterfinals to advance to the first ever championship semifinals.
The last time the Ducks made an appearance was in 2007, when the team fell to BYU at the Stanford regional 4-0.
The farthest the Ducks have advanced in recent history was in 2004, when UO defeated New Mexico 4-3 to advance to the second round where they fell to Washington 4-3.
"I am super excited and happy for my team," said freshman Julia Eshet. "I know we all have been waiting for this for a very long time. There have been some hard moments in the past few years, so I'm really excited about them being excited. We're ready to go hard. We're going to take care of our bodies and focus on our mental states, so when it comes down to pressure moments, we'll be locked in."
"This is a great accomplishment," said sophomore Shweta Sangwan. "That was our biggest goal for this season and it feels good. It feels like we're starting a new legacy here, because it hasn't happened in 10 years. There is no pressure going in, because we achieved our goal. From here on out, it only gets better. This is like the icing on the cake – we're just going to go after it and do what we know how to do."
Notable: It has been 10 years since the Ducks' last appearance at the NCAA tournament and this year also marks the 10 year anniversary of Silverio winning the tournament during her playing days at Georgia Tech. The Ducks were last in Athens, Ga., host of this year's regionals site, where Silverio won the championship.
Follow the Ducks: Follow all of the University of Oregon women's tennis action both on and off the court. Make sure to follow @OregonWTennis on Twitter. Also follow the team on Facebook by "liking" Oregon Ducks Women's Tennis and following Oregon Women's Tennis on Instagram.
#GoDucks
This is Oregon's (14-10) first NCAA appearance in 10 years and marks the 20th year anniversary of the team's first NCAA berth. The Ducks will be joined by first round opponent No. 2 seed NC State (18-10), host No. 1 seed Georgia (17-5)/No. 5 seed nationally, and No. 4 seed South Carolina State (9-10).
To view the full NCAA Tournament bracket, click here - http://on.ncaa.com/2pFXLpV
"It's a privilege to be competing in the 2017 NCAA tournament," said head coach Alison Silverio. "This was one of the goals we set to accomplish. Our team has been committed to the process and preparation since fall. I am not surprised we have placed ourselves in this successful position, because we have been taking care of the details both physically and mentally. The courage our team has showed throughout this year during challenges and adversity is inspiring, and I am confident we will be bringing the same commitment, belief, and resiliency into postseason. I am filled with joy for our program and proud of our team's tireless work ethic. The best is yet to come!"
Seven Pac-12 women's teams earned bids to the championships including UCLA, Cal, Washington, Arizona State, USC, and Stanford.
Oregon's record of 14-10 is the program's best finish since the 2005-06 season (14-9), when the team finished seventh in the conference standings.
With six conference wins in the regular season (6-4), the Ducks earned the team's best Pac-12 record since the 2004-05 season (5-6).
For the first time in program history, the Ducks defeated both USC and UCLA in the same season. Oregon upset the No. 4 seeded Bruins in the Pac-12 championship quarterfinals to advance to the first ever championship semifinals.
The last time the Ducks made an appearance was in 2007, when the team fell to BYU at the Stanford regional 4-0.
The farthest the Ducks have advanced in recent history was in 2004, when UO defeated New Mexico 4-3 to advance to the second round where they fell to Washington 4-3.
"I am super excited and happy for my team," said freshman Julia Eshet. "I know we all have been waiting for this for a very long time. There have been some hard moments in the past few years, so I'm really excited about them being excited. We're ready to go hard. We're going to take care of our bodies and focus on our mental states, so when it comes down to pressure moments, we'll be locked in."
"This is a great accomplishment," said sophomore Shweta Sangwan. "That was our biggest goal for this season and it feels good. It feels like we're starting a new legacy here, because it hasn't happened in 10 years. There is no pressure going in, because we achieved our goal. From here on out, it only gets better. This is like the icing on the cake – we're just going to go after it and do what we know how to do."
Notable: It has been 10 years since the Ducks' last appearance at the NCAA tournament and this year also marks the 10 year anniversary of Silverio winning the tournament during her playing days at Georgia Tech. The Ducks were last in Athens, Ga., host of this year's regionals site, where Silverio won the championship.
Follow the Ducks: Follow all of the University of Oregon women's tennis action both on and off the court. Make sure to follow @OregonWTennis on Twitter. Also follow the team on Facebook by "liking" Oregon Ducks Women's Tennis and following Oregon Women's Tennis on Instagram.
#GoDucks
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Karin Young: "It's all so new and exciting"
Tuesday, May 03
Courtney Nagle: "I'm super excited for this team."
Tuesday, May 03
Sophie Luescher: "It's a really nice feeling."
Tuesday, May 03
Petra Salko Life after University of Oregon
Monday, December 30
