Ducks Open Fall Schedule at ITA All-Americans

EUGENE, Ore. - Shweta Sangwan, Daniela Nasser and Julia Eshet will open the Ducks' fall schedule on Saturday at the ITA All-American Championships in Malibu, Calif. Pepperdine University will host pre-qualifying matches, while main draw matches will take place at Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Pre- qualifying begins on Sept. 29 with qualifying singles and doubles set for Oct. 2-3 and the main draw will take place from Oct. 4-7.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR
The Ducks found success with both of their doubles teams last year at the ITA All-American Championships. The duo of Shweta Sangwan and Julia Eshet entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed and won their first match 8-3 before falling in the second round. Alyssa Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani came out with an 8-6 victory in the first round, then dropped a close set on the second day to end their tournament run. On the singles side, Kahfiani also experienced some early success, winning a three set thriller in the rst round of qualifiers 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Kah ani later lost in two sets during the second round to cut her tournament berth short.

2017-18 SEASON RECAP
The Ducks improved immensely over the course of the 2017-18 season, earning them a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

In the first round, the Ducks took down No. 38 Tennessee with a 4-2 victory. The Ducks easily clinched the doubles point, setting the tone for the rest of the match. Senior Daniela Nasser was the first to put UO on the board with an early 6-2, 6-3 win. She was shortly joined by Shweta Sangwen (7-6 (9-7), 6-2), Julia Lilien (6-0, 4-6, 6-3) and Julia Eshet (6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to secure the victory for UO. The Ducks' win over the Volunteers marked the end of a 14-year winless streak in the NCAA tournament.

After defeating Tennessee, Oregon took on No. 3 Duke in the second round. Sangwen and Paiton Wagner pulled out singles victories, but in the end UO fell to the Blue Devils, 2-4. Despite the loss, the Ducks finished the season with a 16-10 record, marking their best finish since 2005.

HEAD COACH COURTNEY NAGLE
Oregon athletics director Rob Mullins announced Courtney Nagle as the the Ducks' new women's tennis head coach on July 20, 2018. Nagle was a four-year letter winner at Oregon (2002-05) and a former volunteer assistant for the Ducks in 2005 and 2010. She has spent the last four seasons as the top assistant for a highly successful North Carolina program, helping lead the Tar Heels to a 122-12 dual match record, three ACC titles and two Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national championships. Long considered one of the top assistants in the nation, Nagle was named the assistant coach of the year in 2017 by the ITA.

Before fully committing to her coaching career, Nagle competed across the globe as a world-ranked tennis professional on the World Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, where she earned World Team Tennis (WTT) Rookie of the Year honors with the Philadelphia Freedoms. She won 15 career professional doubles titles and reached a doubles ranking of No. 97.

UP NEXT
The Ducks will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., for the Women of Troy Fall Invitational. Hosted by USC, the three-day tournament will run from Friday, Oct. 12 to Sunday, Oct. 14.