Challenging Weekend For Men's Tennis
Consistent- The Ducks have posted a 5-2 singles record at every position except the No. 6 spot (3-4).
Moving Up- Junior Sven Swinnen is about to move into some elite company. The Switzerland native is two wins away from moving into Oregon’s Top-10 wins list.
Also Moving Up- The duo of Thomas Bieri and Manuel Kost now have 20 career wins, moving them into 9th on the all-time doubles win list.
Fast Start- The Ducks have already picked up over half of last year’s total in doubles wins. The Ducks went 30-30 in doubles play last season. This season they are already 18-3.
Improvement- The Ducks are two wins away from totalling last seasons mark of eight.
Last Week's Recap- #33 Boise State - The Ducks were unable to keep their undefeated season intact as they were defeated by the No. 33 Boise State Broncos, 5-2. For the first time all season, Oregon was unable to grab the doubles point, losing two of three matches. In singles, the Ducks picked up wins at the No. 1 (Sven Swinnen) and No. 3 (Manuel Kost) spot, but were swept by positions No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6.
Denver- The Ducks rebounded Saturday, defeating the Denver Pioneers, 4-3. The match has plenty of excitement after Oregon let nine clinching match points go, and then went down two clinching points before rallying and closing it out. Doubles play proved to by the key, as the Ducks won the doubles point and split the single portion three apiece.
Coach Russell On Last Week- “The Ducks let one get away against Boise State, but the guys played hard and stuck together. Bouncing back the next night verses Denver was impressive, with Arron Spencer coming out as the hero.”
Coach Russell On The Upcoming Week- "This weekend we are faced with a similar test, playing UC Santa Barbara (No. 63) on their own courts and then an even tougher Oklahoma St. team (No. 22) also in Santa Barbara. We should be riding some mojo into this weekend, because the guys came together so well to close the Denver match.”
This Week’s Scouting Report- UC Santa Barbara - The Gauchos are 3-4 on the season, defeating No. 13 (NAIA) Westmont, Portland, and UC Riverside. Their losses were to No. 10 Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, and Pepperdine. The Gauchos are led by Alex Anselme who is currently ranked the No. 98 player in the country. Anselme is 6-9 overall on the season.
#22 Oklahoma State - The Cowboys are 3-0 on the season. Mark Van Elden and Yevgen Bondarchuk both received preseason All-Big 12 honors. The two were named to the Big 12 All-Conference squad last season as well. Van Elden and Daniel Byrnes also received preseason mention for doubles. OSU finished last season 18-5 and 5-2 (3rd place) in Big 12 play.
