Ducks Look To Hit The Jackpot With Two Matches In Las Vegas

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon men's tennis team hits the road for only the second time this spring, traveling to Las Vegas to take on San Diego State and UNLV. The Ducks and Aztecs will open the weekend this Saturday, Feb. 17, at 11 a.m. PT, before squaring off against the host Rebels Sunday at 12 p.m. Heading into this weekend, Oregon has only played two matches on the road, recording its only two losses this season.

MATCH 8: OREGON (5-2) vs. SAN DIEGO STATE (0-6)
Saturday, Feb. 17 | 11 a.m.
Las Vegas, Nev. | Fertitta Tennis Complex
Live Stats: N/A
Live Video: N/A

MATCH 9: OREGON (5-2) vs. UNLV (4-3)
Sunday, Feb. 18 | 12 p.m.
Las Vegas, Nev. | Fertitta Tennis Complex
Live Stats: N/A
Live Video: N/A

INTERVIEWS
Head Coach Nils Schyllander

Junior Armando Soemarno

WEEKLY NOTES
DUCKS REMAIN PERFECT AT HOME WITH WIN OVER WISCONSIN
The Ducks powered their way to the doubles point against Wisconsin in their latest match, using that momentum to secure a 5-2 win over the Badgers and remain undefeated on their home court. With the doubles pair of Simon Stevens and Ty Gentry recording a 6-0 victory at the No. 3 spot, the Ducks needed only one more win to secure the doubles point. With both remaining matches locked in tiebreaker sets, Cormac Clissold and Thomas Laurent rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win their match, 7-6(6), to secure the doubles point for UO. The Ducks closed out the match in singles play, picking up wins from Gentry, Clissold and Stevens to clinch the match victory.

With the win, the Ducks are now 5-0 at home. Wisconsin's two singles victories marked the first points UO has given up at home all season. Oregon did not concede a single point in its first four home matches, opening the year with back-to-back 7-0 sweeps over Idaho and Portland State . The Ducks followed that up with 4-0 wins over Georgia State and Pepperdine.

STEVENS, CLISSOLD CLIMB RANKINGS
In their final seasons at Oregon, seniors Simon Stevens and Cormac Clissold have climbed their way up the UO record books. Tied for 15th at the start of the 2017-18 season, Stevens has leaped into a tie for sixth, with a team-high 14-4 record this season. Stevens has a 69-31 career singles record, placing him in a tie with Oded Teig. The Belgium international needs just six more wins to crack the top five on UO's all-time career singles wins list.

Clissold started the year outside UO's top 15, but has clawed his way up thanks to a 10-2 singles record so far this season. Currently, he is tied for 13th with a career record of 56-26.

Both Clissold and Stevens are already among Oregon's top five most successful doubles players ranking fourth and fifth, respectively. Individually, they are right behind one another with Clissold accumulating 70 doubles wins during his career and Stevens logging 69 wins.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Ducks dropped out of the team rankings in the latest ITA national rankings released Feb. 7, but added a doubles pair.

The duo of senior Simon Stevens and sophomore Ty Gentry rocketed up to No. 37 after opening the year a perfect 5-0. They join Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold, who stay steady at No. 17, in the ITA top 40.

Individually, Laurent dropped six spots in the singles rankings, but remains one of the top singles players in the country, ranked No. 12. He is currently 3-1 at the No. 1 spot so far this season.

THE STEVENS-GENTRY CONNECTION
Coming into the season, senior Simon Stevens and sophomore Ty Gentry had only paired six times in 2016-17 for a 3-3 record. The two finished the spring season 1-2, with Stevens playing the majority of his doubles matches with Akihiro Tanaka.

At the start of the 2017 fall season, the smart money was on Stevens and Tanaka to continue their pairing from last year. But with Tanaka opening the year at the ITA All-Americans, and Stevens playing in the Boise State Invitational, Gentry stepped up to pair with the Belgium international. The duo immediately turned heads, advancing to the finals of the tournament before dropping a close match, 8-6, in the finals. The pair reunited at the Gopher Invitational eventually taking home the maroon draw championship in UO's final tournament of the fall.

Seven matches into the spring season, the pair is still a force to be reckoned with, leading the team with an undefeated 6-0 doubles record. Overall, Stevens and Gentry are 14-1 this year, having won 10 matches in a row. With the majority of the season still to play, the Duck pair are challenging Cormac Clissold and Thomas Laurent's single-season record of 15 consecutive wins. They also need just six more wins to crack the top 15 on the career doubles wins list.

FRESHMEN MAKING THEIR MARK
Oregon's two new additions this spring, Riki Oshima and Charles Roberts, have made an immediate impact during the opening stretch of the 2018 spring season. Roberts and partner Armando Soemarno single-handedly secured the doubles points for UO in its season opener against Idaho, rallying from three games down to win the match, 7-5. The pair finished the day 2-0 in doubles play following their 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot against Portland State's Tommy Edwards and Avery West. So far this season, the duo is one of UO's team leaders with a 5-2 doubles record.

After dropping two matches while playing against top-ranked squads Stanford and California, Oshima bounced back against Pepperdine clinching the match victory for UO at the No. 5 spot. Currently 3-3 on the year in singles play, Oshima started the year 2-0 dropping only one game throughout his first two career matches. The Japanese international was a force to be reckoned with, sweeping Idaho's Bence Da Re, 6-0, 6-0, in his first-ever match. He followed that stellar performance with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the No. 4 spot against his Portland State counterpart. Oshima has also partnered with senior Akihiro Tanaka for a 6-1 doubles win at the No. 2 spot against Portland State.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Ducks had the upper hand in the opening stretch of the spring season with five of their first seven matches played in Eugene. UO finished the 2017 spring season 10-1 at home, and have a combined 51-10 record over the last five years when playing at the Student Tennis Center. With five matches already played, Oregon will have nine more home matches during the upcoming dual season, the most since 2013 when UO went 12-2 when playing in Eugene. The Ducks are currently 5-0 when playing at home.

LAURENT NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Thomas Laurent was named the first Pac-12 Player of the Week for the 2018 spring season, the conference announced Tuesday, Jan. 23. Laurent, the No. 6 ranked player in the nation, was dominant in the Ducks outing against Georgia State, defeating Andrei Andrukhou, 6-0, 6-2, at the No. 1 position. The French international dropped only four games throughout his first six sets played. In doubles play, Laurent and partner senior Cormac Clissold recorded their first win of the season against the Panthers. The duo came up big at the No. 2 position against the 56th-ranked pair of Kevin Huynh and Giles Hussey, 6-2. This is Laurent's second career Pac-12 Player of the Week award.

UP NEXT
Following their weekend in Vegas, the Ducks return to Eugene for a doubleheader against Northern Arizona and Gonzaga Saturday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.