Senior Day A Success For Men's Tennis

Sunday, April 8

Eugene, OR

11:00 AM

University of Oregon

Arizona

Photo by: Samuel Marshall/Eric Evans Photography

04/08/18 | Men's Tennis

Oregon 4, Arizona 0

Oregon swept Arizona in its 2018 home finale, regaining momentum for a postseason push.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Needing every win it can muster down the stretch for its postseason résumé, the Oregon men's tennis team came through with a 4-0 sweep of visiting Arizona on Sunday in the UO Student Tennis Center, sending the team's seniors out in style in their home finale.

The Ducks (14-7, 2-3) first secured the doubles point in dramatic finish, then got straight-set victories from Thomas Laurent, Ty Gentry and Riki Oshima to complete the sweep. The UO men bounced back from Friday's loss to Arizona State and regained some momentum entering a three-match road trip to end the regular season.

"It was a must-win," UO coach Nils Shyllander said. "Now we need to go and pick up a few more. But it was a good start, after a really close match the other night. I thought we responded really well."

How It Happened: Laurent and senior Cormac Clissold won 6-4 at No. 1 doubles, with Arizona winning the No. 3 matchup to even the doubles scoring. It came down to the No. 2 pairing, where UO senior Simon Stevens and his partner Gentry fell behind 15-30 on each of the last two points, before rallying to win them and secure the match, 6-4.

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"There was a lot of tension; we knew that doubles point was key for the match," Stevens said. "I think having our families (on hand for Senior Day), a little bigger crowd than usual, definitely gave us the energy to clinch that doubles point and then get a good start in every court for singles."

At one point early in singles play, the Ducks led or were tied on all six courts. Gentry's overpowering serve helped him cruise to a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles. He clinched his match at almost the same moment Laurent finished off his at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 7-5.

Stevens and fellow senior Akihiro Tanaka cruised through their first sets but then were pushed to a third at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Clissold, playing in the No. 4 position, dropped his opening set and found himself in another battle in the second.
But those matches became academic when Oshima gave the Ducks the clinching point at No. 6 singles.

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A week after also clinching Oregon's win at Washington, Oshima buckled down for a 6-4, 7-5 victory on Sunday that finished off a sweep for the Ducks. Ranked No. 41 entering the weekend, the Ducks knew they needed a win over Arizona for the sake of their postseason hopes; getting it on Senior Day made it all the more special.

"There was a little bit more pressure, but we treated it as usual," Clissold said. "It's like any other match — we come out and try to play our best. But it was the same for Arizona; we knew they were under the gun as well. We just had to play our game, and we got the 'W'."

Ironically, it was Oregon's three seniors whose matches were ongoing when the Ducks clinched the victory. But their contributions weren't to be overlooked, either Sunday or over the course of the last four seasons.

"Cormac has had a great season, and Sim's fire kind of spreads throughout the team when we compete," Schyllander said. "They definitely have had a huge impact, and not only this year.

"They've been part of the evolution of the program. It's sad to see them graduate, in a way, but I'm very proud of all three of those guys."

Up Next: The Ducks kick off their three-match road trip at Utah on Saturday, before closing out the season in the Bay Area. The following week brings the Pac-12 Championships, April 25-28 in Ojai, Calif.

"As long as we fight for every point, I think we're a really good team," Oshima said. "That's the key for us — fight for every point, and we'll have a good result."