Men's Tennis Competes at the Pac-10 Championships
The University of Oregon men’s tennis team will travel to Ojai, Calif., to compete at the Pac-10 Championships (Thu.-Sun.). The tourney is held in conjunction with the 105th annual Ojai Valley Tournament. The “Ojai”, as it is known in the tennis community, is the oldest amateur tennis tournament in the United States. No. 16-ranked Sven Swinnen (23-7 overall) is Oregon’s top seed in the championship singles draw.
Last Week ? The Ducks closed out the regular season with a 6-1 loss to No. 11 Washington.
Pac-10’s ? Eight Ducks are expected to compete at this weekend’s tournament. No. 16 Sven Swinnen, Manuel Kost, Thomas Bieri and Arron Spencer will compete in the championships singles draw. Eric Pickard, Chris Liao, Markus Schiller and Vlad Pino will compete in the invitational draw. The doubles teams of Swinnen/Spencer and Bieri/Kost will compete in the championship doubles draw.
Super Sven ? With a 23-7 overall record, Swinnen is ranked No. 16 in the ITA rankings. Swinnen is destine for a second consecutive postseason berth and with a strong Pac-10 showing, could earn one of the top 16 seeds in the national singles draw.
2004 Pac-10’s ? Swinnen was upset in the first round, while Kost reached the quarterfinals of the singles draw. Bieri and former Duck Chris King reached the semifinals of the invitational doubles draw.
Ojai History ? The Ojai, as it is known in tennis circles, is the oldest amateur tennis tournament in the United States and has been interrupted only five years since its inception ? in 1924 by hoof and mouth disease and four years during World War II. Pac-10 schools have competed in intercollegiate events in 94 of The Ojai’s 104 tournaments beginning in 1911. Championship medals are awarded in both singles and doubles and the winner’s names are inscribed on permanent trophies displayed each year at the tournament. Last year’s singles winners were Stanford’s Sam Warburg and California’s Raquel Kops-Jones. Doubles winners were UCLA’s Philipp Gruendler and Luben Pampoulov on the men’s side and Stanford’s Alice Barnes and Erin Burdette for the women.
Links
Main Tournament Page ? http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=24290
Championship Singles Draw (Swinnen, Spencer, Bieri, Kost) ? http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=24290&E=9
Invitational Singles Draw (Pickard, Schiller, Liao, Pino) ? http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=24290&E=17
Championship Doubles Draw (Swinnen/Spencer and Kost/Bieri) ? http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=24290&E=10
Invitational Doubles Draw (Pino/Schiller and Liao/Pickard) ? http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=24290&E=18
Pac-10 Release ? http://www.pac-10.org/sports/c-tennis/spec-rel/041805aaa.html
