Pac-10 Championships Begin In Ojai
EUGENE, Ore. -- The Oregon men’s tennis team is set to start the Pac-10 Championships tomorrow in Ojai, Calif. The championships determine the conference’s men’s singles and doubles champion. The 32-player men’s singles draw consists of four student-athletes from each school, and the 16-team doubles draw consists of two doubles teams.
WHAT & WHERE: Pac-10 competition will be held in conjunction with the 108th Annual Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. The Pac-10 men will compete at Libbey Park in Ojai for all rounds. Matches begin at 8 a.m., with two rounds of singles on opening day. One round of singles and two rounds of doubles will be played on Friday. The Pac-10 Women’s Singles Final will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, followed by the Men’s Singles Final at approximately 11 a.m. The Women’s Doubles Championship will follow at 12:30 p.m., with the Men’s Doubles Championship at 2 p.m.
RESULTS AVAILABLE ONLINE: Results will be posted at www.ojaitourney.org, as well as on the Pac-10 website: www.pac-10.org.
PAC-10 INDIVIDUAL AWARDS: Individual awards, including the Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year, will be awarded after the conclusion of the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai and released from the conference office.
QUICK HITS
The Oregon men finished last in the 2008 Pac-10 standings with an 0-7 conference record. But the competition was some of the best in the country, with currently 17 singles players ranked in the nation’s top 125. The Pac-10 also boasts three doubles tandems ranked in the nation’s top 60. UCLA won the Pac-10 championship with an undefeated 7-0 record in league action. The Bruins ended the regular season with a 21-1 (.954) overall record and are currently the third-ranked team in the nation. The Pac-10’s second top-10 team is also from SoCal, No. 7 USC. The Trojans (19-4, 6-1) are followed by No. 21 Arizona State (15-4, 3-4), No. 22 Stanford (12-8, 5-2), No. 30 California (12-10, 4-3), No. 35 Washington (13-9, 2-5) and No. 59 Arizona (11-13, 1-6).
OREGON’S SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP ROUTE
In the Pac-10 Singles Championship, the Ducks have their four top players scheduled to begin action Thursday morning in the Round of 32. Sophomore Geoff Embry has the task of playing Kaes Van’t Hof from USC at 8 a.m. The senior is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the 34th-ranked player in the country. Also beginning at 8 a.m. is Oregon sophomore Alex Cornelissen. He will play UCLA’s Mathieu Dehaine, the No. 5 seed as well as 37th-ranked player in the nation. At 9 a.m., sophomore Francisco Gallardo is set to play Washington’s Patrik Fisher. The No. 6 seed in the tournament, Fisher is also ranked No. 86 in the country. The Ducks’ No. 1 player the majority of the season, sophomore Marcos Verdasco, is set to take on UCLA’s Michael Look at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. Winners will move onto the Round of 16 and compete Thursday afternoon.
OREGON’S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP ROUTE
Oregon has two doubles team in the Round of 16 bracket that begins on Friday. Embry and Romeo Mortera will play the team of Geoffrey Chizever and Pedro Zerbini at 9 a.m. Friday. The California duo is the bracket’s No. 4 seed. Cornelissen and Verdasco will play Stanford’s Ted J. Kelly and Blake Muller at 10 a.m. on Friday. The winners will move onto the quarterfinals taking place Friday afternoon.
MORE COMPETITION
Oregon will also have student-athletes competing in the Pac-10 Invitational Singles and Doubles brackets. Junior Mike Myrhed will play Kelly of Stanford at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Freshman Duncan MacDonald-Korth will also see action, playing Arizona State’s Wes Miller at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Mortera is scheduled to play California’s Zach Gilbert at 9 a.m. on Thursday, followed by teammate Stephen Wiechert. The sophomore will play Stanford’s Paul Morissey at 11:30 a.m. In doubles action, MacDonald-Korth will team with freshman Doug Mayeda to play Martin Kidahl and Tobi Obenaus of Washington at 9 a.m. on Friday, while Gallardo and Wiechert are marked for a 10.a.m. match on Friday with Washington’s Bradley E. Bator and David Chu. The winners move onto the quarterfinals Friday afternoon.
A QUICK LOOK BACK
Oregon finished its regular season 11-14, but couldn’t convert nonconference success to Pac-10 action. The Ducks were 11-7 entering the league season, before dropping their last seven duals of the season. Oregon showed progress in doubles action, after having double the losses than wins just a season ago. The Ducks improved from 23-46 (2007) in doubles action to 34-36 this season. Oregon even won the doubles point in two of their Pac-10 duals (at Stanford and California.)
SINGLES
Cornelissen posted a 12-14 record in 2008, recording the most wins of any other player in the lineup, seeing most of his action at the No. 3 spot (7-9). Mortera, a sophomore and Portland native, finished an even 11-11 on the year, splitting his time between the No. 4 (4-4) and No. 5 (5-6) spots in the lineup. Also reaching double-digit victories was Gallardo at 10-15. The native of Le’on, Mexico, played the majority of his matches at the No. 2 spot (7-14). Embry returned from an early-season injury to head to the championships with a 9-9 record. The Phoenix, Ariz., native, saw his most success at No. 5 (5-1). Oregon’s top player, Verdasco, finished the year with an 8-17 record, playing all but one of his matches at the top spot. The Ducks were a combined 27-48 at the top of the lineup, and a combined 41-33 at the bottom of the lineup for a 68-81 singles record.
DOUBLES
The team of Mortera and Embry heads into the Pac-10 Championships having won its last four Pac-10 matches. The duo have a 7-4 record on the year. No other Oregon combinations picked up four wins in conference action, and no other tandems other than Gallardo and Wiechert (7-10) and Cornelissen and Mryhed (7-3) had as many wins during the year.
WHAT & WHERE: Pac-10 competition will be held in conjunction with the 108th Annual Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. The Pac-10 men will compete at Libbey Park in Ojai for all rounds. Matches begin at 8 a.m., with two rounds of singles on opening day. One round of singles and two rounds of doubles will be played on Friday. The Pac-10 Women’s Singles Final will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, followed by the Men’s Singles Final at approximately 11 a.m. The Women’s Doubles Championship will follow at 12:30 p.m., with the Men’s Doubles Championship at 2 p.m.
RESULTS AVAILABLE ONLINE: Results will be posted at www.ojaitourney.org, as well as on the Pac-10 website: www.pac-10.org.
PAC-10 INDIVIDUAL AWARDS: Individual awards, including the Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year, will be awarded after the conclusion of the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai and released from the conference office.
QUICK HITS
The Oregon men finished last in the 2008 Pac-10 standings with an 0-7 conference record. But the competition was some of the best in the country, with currently 17 singles players ranked in the nation’s top 125. The Pac-10 also boasts three doubles tandems ranked in the nation’s top 60. UCLA won the Pac-10 championship with an undefeated 7-0 record in league action. The Bruins ended the regular season with a 21-1 (.954) overall record and are currently the third-ranked team in the nation. The Pac-10’s second top-10 team is also from SoCal, No. 7 USC. The Trojans (19-4, 6-1) are followed by No. 21 Arizona State (15-4, 3-4), No. 22 Stanford (12-8, 5-2), No. 30 California (12-10, 4-3), No. 35 Washington (13-9, 2-5) and No. 59 Arizona (11-13, 1-6).
OREGON’S SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP ROUTE
In the Pac-10 Singles Championship, the Ducks have their four top players scheduled to begin action Thursday morning in the Round of 32. Sophomore Geoff Embry has the task of playing Kaes Van’t Hof from USC at 8 a.m. The senior is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the 34th-ranked player in the country. Also beginning at 8 a.m. is Oregon sophomore Alex Cornelissen. He will play UCLA’s Mathieu Dehaine, the No. 5 seed as well as 37th-ranked player in the nation. At 9 a.m., sophomore Francisco Gallardo is set to play Washington’s Patrik Fisher. The No. 6 seed in the tournament, Fisher is also ranked No. 86 in the country. The Ducks’ No. 1 player the majority of the season, sophomore Marcos Verdasco, is set to take on UCLA’s Michael Look at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. Winners will move onto the Round of 16 and compete Thursday afternoon.
OREGON’S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP ROUTE
Oregon has two doubles team in the Round of 16 bracket that begins on Friday. Embry and Romeo Mortera will play the team of Geoffrey Chizever and Pedro Zerbini at 9 a.m. Friday. The California duo is the bracket’s No. 4 seed. Cornelissen and Verdasco will play Stanford’s Ted J. Kelly and Blake Muller at 10 a.m. on Friday. The winners will move onto the quarterfinals taking place Friday afternoon.
MORE COMPETITION
Oregon will also have student-athletes competing in the Pac-10 Invitational Singles and Doubles brackets. Junior Mike Myrhed will play Kelly of Stanford at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Freshman Duncan MacDonald-Korth will also see action, playing Arizona State’s Wes Miller at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Mortera is scheduled to play California’s Zach Gilbert at 9 a.m. on Thursday, followed by teammate Stephen Wiechert. The sophomore will play Stanford’s Paul Morissey at 11:30 a.m. In doubles action, MacDonald-Korth will team with freshman Doug Mayeda to play Martin Kidahl and Tobi Obenaus of Washington at 9 a.m. on Friday, while Gallardo and Wiechert are marked for a 10.a.m. match on Friday with Washington’s Bradley E. Bator and David Chu. The winners move onto the quarterfinals Friday afternoon.
A QUICK LOOK BACK
Oregon finished its regular season 11-14, but couldn’t convert nonconference success to Pac-10 action. The Ducks were 11-7 entering the league season, before dropping their last seven duals of the season. Oregon showed progress in doubles action, after having double the losses than wins just a season ago. The Ducks improved from 23-46 (2007) in doubles action to 34-36 this season. Oregon even won the doubles point in two of their Pac-10 duals (at Stanford and California.)
SINGLES
Cornelissen posted a 12-14 record in 2008, recording the most wins of any other player in the lineup, seeing most of his action at the No. 3 spot (7-9). Mortera, a sophomore and Portland native, finished an even 11-11 on the year, splitting his time between the No. 4 (4-4) and No. 5 (5-6) spots in the lineup. Also reaching double-digit victories was Gallardo at 10-15. The native of Le’on, Mexico, played the majority of his matches at the No. 2 spot (7-14). Embry returned from an early-season injury to head to the championships with a 9-9 record. The Phoenix, Ariz., native, saw his most success at No. 5 (5-1). Oregon’s top player, Verdasco, finished the year with an 8-17 record, playing all but one of his matches at the top spot. The Ducks were a combined 27-48 at the top of the lineup, and a combined 41-33 at the bottom of the lineup for a 68-81 singles record.
DOUBLES
The team of Mortera and Embry heads into the Pac-10 Championships having won its last four Pac-10 matches. The duo have a 7-4 record on the year. No other Oregon combinations picked up four wins in conference action, and no other tandems other than Gallardo and Wiechert (7-10) and Cornelissen and Mryhed (7-3) had as many wins during the year.
