Men's Tennis Travels to L.A.
After reaching the NCAA Team Championships in 2004, the University of Oregon men’s tennis team (7-11, 0-2) is in need of a big win for their resume in order to duplicate last year’s berth. The task won’t be easy as the Ducks take on No. 12 USC (Fri., 1:30 p.m) and No. 6 UCLA (Sat., 1 p.m.) this weekend in Los Angeles. Oregon is led by senior Sven Swinnen, who is 20-5 overall on the season and ranked No. 22 nationally.
Last Week ? The Ducks lost all three matches of their homestand. Manuel Kost and Thomas Bieri moved into seventh all-time for career doubles wins (25) with two victories against the Bay Area schools. Kost also defeated his first ranked player of the season against Stanford.
Scouting #12 USC ? The Trojans are 9-8, 2-0, but don’t let their record fool you ? USC has played 10 teams in the top 25. The Trojans are led by No. 28 Jamil Al-Agba who is 12-10 overall. Al-Agba and Johan Berg are ranked No. 36 in doubles.
Scouting #6 UCLA ? The Bruins are 17-2, 2-0 and winners of their last five. The squad features four ranked players including sophomore Benjamin Kohlloeffel who is an impressive 34-4 overall.
Full-Strength ? Feb. 5 was the last time the Ducks took the court with Swinnen, Manuel Kost and Markus Schiller all in the singles lineup. Schiller managed to play doubles against Stanford, but is questionable for singles play the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury.
Super Sven ? With a 20-5 overall and 13-2 dual record, Sven Swinnen is ranked No. 22 in the recent ITA rankings.
Now or Never ? With five dual matches remaining, any hopes of a postseason berth are going need to be addressed immediately for the Ducks. Last season, Oregon slipped into the tournament with a 9-10 record, including a top-25 win over Washington. This season, Oregon’s top victory came against No. 37 Minnesota.
Links ? Recent team, single and doubles rankings can be found at www.collegetennisonline.com
Live Stats ?Live stats of this weekend's match against UCLA can be found at http://uclabruins.collegesports.com/sports/m-tennis/ucla-m-tennis-scoreboard.html.
