Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Charlton Looks to Add to Wins Record
03/30/23 | Men's Tennis, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon hosts UC Santa Barbara on Thursday led by newly crowned program record-holder for combined singles and doubles wins Josh Charlton.
Maturity and versatility have helped Josh Charlton make history.
Last week, Charlton notched career victory No. 184 with the Oregon men's tennis program, across singles and doubles play. By keeping himself healthy and adaptable, Charlton has participated in more wins than anyone else in the history of the program.
Charlton has been tough enough to play through minor bumps and bruises, and smart enough to adapt his training regimen to keep himself as healthy as possible. He's been versatile enough to thrive with multiple doubles partners, and to succeed both with the attacking mindset doubles requires and the more methodical pace of singles play.
It was as a freshman, watching Thomas Laurent set the program record for singles wins with 96, that Charlton first entertained the idea of one day seeing his own name in the UO record book.
"That sort of caught my attention — that's pretty special, that's something cool," said Charlton, a native of Traralgon, Australia. "If I could maybe leave a mark on the Oregon men's tennis program, that'd be pretty special."
Charlton got off to a strong start as a freshman in 2018-19, notching 20 wins in both singles and doubles play. He entered this spring in sight of Robin Cambier's record of 183 wins from 2010-14, and against Utah last week Charlton got to 184 with a doubles victory alongside partner Quinn Vandecasteele.
That win came a week after Charlton took the court for the Ducks in a dual against Portland State. That was a few hours after Oregon beat BYU earlier in the day, and UO coach Nils Schyllander gave Charlton the option of sitting out against the Viks. But Charlton hasn't missed a match yet in his UO career, and he wasn't about to do so that day.
"I've never wanted to miss an opportunity in terms of when I step on the court," he said. "I've always been like, 'Let's give everything I've got to get the win.' Because I don't want to look back and think I could have done more, and regretted that."
Charlton's ironman streak has required him to be adaptable in his training plan. He played through shin splints as a freshman, back when he'd spend hour upon hour practicing. As the years have progressed, he's become more attuned to proper rest and recovery, and to what's necessary in practice to keep himself sharp for matches.
"I'm much more conscious of my time spent on court in practice," he said. "Try to get what I need to get in, in the quickest amount of time as possible. Because I need my body to be as fresh and explosive as possible on match day. And it's a long year. I can't be stubborn and spend six hours on court in practice or something."
Being mature and adaptable has helped Charlton thrive across both singles and doubles play. He plays a strong serve-and-volley game, which is critical to doubles and singles alike. Where the two differ is in the mentality they require — doubles is a fast-paced, quick-twitch battle of aggression, while singles is a slower-developing contest of strategy and patience.
A college match begins with one set of doubles play, and immediately transitions into best-of-three singles matches. As a younger player, Charlton said, there were times he'd catch himself playing the first few points in singles having yet to turn off the ultra-aggressive mindset he needed for doubles.
"That's definitely something I've learned more, just getting that mental reset," he said.
Along with aggression, cohesion is imperative in doubles as well. Charlton partnered primarily with Ty Gentry his first two years with the Ducks, and lately with Vandecasteele has contributed to one of the top doubles tandems in all of college tennis.
For as fast as doubles matches play out, there's no time for any kind of emotional lull. Partners must make shots to support each other, of course, but they have to keep each other's spirits up, too. Lose focus or confidence for only a few moments, and you can lose a match.
"I think a key part to doing well with the doubles partners I've had is getting to know them, so it's not just playing tennis together, it's having fun together, enjoying each other," Charlton said. "When you get to know each other and you're enjoying it, we've won some tournaments that I've thought, 'How did we just pull that one out?' And it was just on pure camaraderie."
Lately, as Charlton approached the UO wins record, fun has been mixed with frustration. The Ducks have had battles recently with the likes of Memphis, Texas Tech and the Utes in which they've come up just short of dual wins.
They host UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at noon before playing at UW on Saturday, and they're looking to come out on the other side of results against other quality programs, led by their new all-time wins leader.
"Every match we're going out there and we're emptying the tank, and we're just coming up short," Charlton said. "And we're so close to breaking through. If a few things went the other way, we could be in a very different position. But where we are is where we are, and we've got some very important matches to come. And I think it's going to show the character of our team."
Last week, Charlton notched career victory No. 184 with the Oregon men's tennis program, across singles and doubles play. By keeping himself healthy and adaptable, Charlton has participated in more wins than anyone else in the history of the program.
Charlton has been tough enough to play through minor bumps and bruises, and smart enough to adapt his training regimen to keep himself as healthy as possible. He's been versatile enough to thrive with multiple doubles partners, and to succeed both with the attacking mindset doubles requires and the more methodical pace of singles play.
It was as a freshman, watching Thomas Laurent set the program record for singles wins with 96, that Charlton first entertained the idea of one day seeing his own name in the UO record book.
"That sort of caught my attention — that's pretty special, that's something cool," said Charlton, a native of Traralgon, Australia. "If I could maybe leave a mark on the Oregon men's tennis program, that'd be pretty special."
Charlton got off to a strong start as a freshman in 2018-19, notching 20 wins in both singles and doubles play. He entered this spring in sight of Robin Cambier's record of 183 wins from 2010-14, and against Utah last week Charlton got to 184 with a doubles victory alongside partner Quinn Vandecasteele.
That win came a week after Charlton took the court for the Ducks in a dual against Portland State. That was a few hours after Oregon beat BYU earlier in the day, and UO coach Nils Schyllander gave Charlton the option of sitting out against the Viks. But Charlton hasn't missed a match yet in his UO career, and he wasn't about to do so that day.
"I've never wanted to miss an opportunity in terms of when I step on the court," he said. "I've always been like, 'Let's give everything I've got to get the win.' Because I don't want to look back and think I could have done more, and regretted that."
Charlton's ironman streak has required him to be adaptable in his training plan. He played through shin splints as a freshman, back when he'd spend hour upon hour practicing. As the years have progressed, he's become more attuned to proper rest and recovery, and to what's necessary in practice to keep himself sharp for matches.
"I'm much more conscious of my time spent on court in practice," he said. "Try to get what I need to get in, in the quickest amount of time as possible. Because I need my body to be as fresh and explosive as possible on match day. And it's a long year. I can't be stubborn and spend six hours on court in practice or something."
Being mature and adaptable has helped Charlton thrive across both singles and doubles play. He plays a strong serve-and-volley game, which is critical to doubles and singles alike. Where the two differ is in the mentality they require — doubles is a fast-paced, quick-twitch battle of aggression, while singles is a slower-developing contest of strategy and patience.
A college match begins with one set of doubles play, and immediately transitions into best-of-three singles matches. As a younger player, Charlton said, there were times he'd catch himself playing the first few points in singles having yet to turn off the ultra-aggressive mindset he needed for doubles.
"That's definitely something I've learned more, just getting that mental reset," he said.
Along with aggression, cohesion is imperative in doubles as well. Charlton partnered primarily with Ty Gentry his first two years with the Ducks, and lately with Vandecasteele has contributed to one of the top doubles tandems in all of college tennis.
For as fast as doubles matches play out, there's no time for any kind of emotional lull. Partners must make shots to support each other, of course, but they have to keep each other's spirits up, too. Lose focus or confidence for only a few moments, and you can lose a match.
"I think a key part to doing well with the doubles partners I've had is getting to know them, so it's not just playing tennis together, it's having fun together, enjoying each other," Charlton said. "When you get to know each other and you're enjoying it, we've won some tournaments that I've thought, 'How did we just pull that one out?' And it was just on pure camaraderie."
Lately, as Charlton approached the UO wins record, fun has been mixed with frustration. The Ducks have had battles recently with the likes of Memphis, Texas Tech and the Utes in which they've come up just short of dual wins.
They host UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at noon before playing at UW on Saturday, and they're looking to come out on the other side of results against other quality programs, led by their new all-time wins leader.
"Every match we're going out there and we're emptying the tank, and we're just coming up short," Charlton said. "And we're so close to breaking through. If a few things went the other way, we could be in a very different position. But where we are is where we are, and we've got some very important matches to come. And I think it's going to show the character of our team."
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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
