
Ducks Blank Bulldogs For Eighth Sweep Of The Season
03/24/18 | Men's Tennis
EUGENE. Ore. – After a close battle in doubles play, the Oregon men's tennis team ran away with it, shutting out Drake 7-0 Saturday evening at the Student Tennis Center.
"It's huge," Head coach Nils Schyllander said about the victory. "Drake's a nationally ranked program and it was one we needed to win to reach our goals, and we did. We did it very convincingly"
How it Happened: It looked as if the match would be a knock-down-drag-out battle between The Ducks (11-5, 0-2) and Bulldogs at the onset, with both teams playing very strong in doubles play.
Simon Stevens and Ty Gentry picked up the first win of the day, downing Tom Hands and Ben Clark, 6-3, at the No. 3 position with both remaining courts tied, 4-4.
With Armando Soemarno and Charles Roberts falling at the No. 1 position, 6-4, the doubles point came down to Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold at the No. 2 spot.
After tying the match 4-4, the Duck duo took the next two games with Laurent sealing the victory and the doubles point with an emphatic ace to win 6-4.
From there it was all Oregon.
Laurent cruised to a victory at the No. 1 spot, nearly recording the match sweep with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Vinny Gillespie.
Riki Oshima quickly followed with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Drake's Ben Wood at the No. 6 position.
Akihiro Tanaka secured the match victory at the No. 3 spot defeating Hands 6-3, 6-3 to give UO a 4-0 lead.
With both teams deciding to play out the remaining three courts, the Ducks looked to maintain the shutout as Gentry recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win at the No. 5 position.
Stevens and Clissold attempted to finish it off in straight sets with the two seniors winning their opening sets, but locked in a 6-6 tiebreaker against their Drake counterparts in their respective second sets.
Despite both falling in their tiebreaker sets, both Stevens and Clissold managed to record singles victories winning their third sets by scores of 10-8 and 10-4, respectively, to secure the shutout win.
Notable: The win marks Oregon's eighth shutout victory of the year … With their win, Clissold and Laurent are now tied with Robin Cambier and Jeff Mullens for the most career victories in doubles play with 57 wins.
Quotable: Head coach Nils Schyllander
On Clissold and Laurent as a doubles pair…
"They complement each other really well. Tom has good returns and Cormac has really good instincts. I think they mesh on the doubles courts, Tom sets Cormac up good and Cormac knows doubles so well that he is able to use that."
Up Next: The Ducks close out their five-match home stand Monday hosting UC Santa Barbara at 3:00 p.m.
"It's huge," Head coach Nils Schyllander said about the victory. "Drake's a nationally ranked program and it was one we needed to win to reach our goals, and we did. We did it very convincingly"
How it Happened: It looked as if the match would be a knock-down-drag-out battle between The Ducks (11-5, 0-2) and Bulldogs at the onset, with both teams playing very strong in doubles play.
Simon Stevens and Ty Gentry picked up the first win of the day, downing Tom Hands and Ben Clark, 6-3, at the No. 3 position with both remaining courts tied, 4-4.
With Armando Soemarno and Charles Roberts falling at the No. 1 position, 6-4, the doubles point came down to Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold at the No. 2 spot.
After tying the match 4-4, the Duck duo took the next two games with Laurent sealing the victory and the doubles point with an emphatic ace to win 6-4.
From there it was all Oregon.
Laurent cruised to a victory at the No. 1 spot, nearly recording the match sweep with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Vinny Gillespie.
Riki Oshima quickly followed with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Drake's Ben Wood at the No. 6 position.
Akihiro Tanaka secured the match victory at the No. 3 spot defeating Hands 6-3, 6-3 to give UO a 4-0 lead.
With both teams deciding to play out the remaining three courts, the Ducks looked to maintain the shutout as Gentry recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win at the No. 5 position.
Stevens and Clissold attempted to finish it off in straight sets with the two seniors winning their opening sets, but locked in a 6-6 tiebreaker against their Drake counterparts in their respective second sets.
Despite both falling in their tiebreaker sets, both Stevens and Clissold managed to record singles victories winning their third sets by scores of 10-8 and 10-4, respectively, to secure the shutout win.
Notable: The win marks Oregon's eighth shutout victory of the year … With their win, Clissold and Laurent are now tied with Robin Cambier and Jeff Mullens for the most career victories in doubles play with 57 wins.
Quotable: Head coach Nils Schyllander
On Clissold and Laurent as a doubles pair…
"They complement each other really well. Tom has good returns and Cormac has really good instincts. I think they mesh on the doubles courts, Tom sets Cormac up good and Cormac knows doubles so well that he is able to use that."
Up Next: The Ducks close out their five-match home stand Monday hosting UC Santa Barbara at 3:00 p.m.
Players Mentioned
2024 Oregon Men's Tennis | Washington Match Recap
Wednesday, April 17
Nils Schyllander: "It's like Christmas Day."
Wednesday, February 15
Brandon Lam: "I think we're right there."
Tuesday, February 25
Joshua Charlton: "We reset this week and have two huge opportunities."
Tuesday, February 25