Crucial Road Matches Lie Ahead for UO
EUGENE – With its final two matches of the regular season on the horizon, the No. 57-ranked Oregon women’s tennis team looks to make its final case for a possible postseason appearance. JB Long and Amy Jensen will have the call on the Pac-12 Networks when the Ducks’ square off against No. 47 Washington on Friday, April 17, in the border war showdown. Oregon will then fly home to the friendly confines of the Student Tennis Center for its final match of the regular season. First serve is set for 11 a.m. against Idaho on Sunday, April 19.
Friday's showdown with the Huskies will begin at 2:30 p.m. (PT) with doubles play before going live on the Pac-12 Networks at 4 p.m. To find the Pac-12 Networks for your cable provider, click here.
ONCE A DUCK, ALWAYS A DUCK
Seniors Sofia Hager and Nicole Long are set to play in their final home match in a Duck uniform this Sunday, April 19, when UO plays host to Idaho. The two seniors have combined for 95 wins in singles play during their time in Eugene. Long has racked up 50 wins in her career as a Duck while Hager nearly has just as much with 45.
BORDER WAR ON TAP
A possible postseason bid will be on the line on Friday, April 17, when the Ducks and Huskies battle it out at 5 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks. Oregon is coming off a 4-3 upset of then-No. 45 Arizona, to stop a five-match skid, when the two teams square off at Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center. Both teams also enter the bout with a 3-6 mark in Pac-12 play while Oregon is 9-10 overall compared to Washington’s 11-10 mark.
Julija Lukac leads the Huskies with a 15-6 record, all of which have come in dual play at the No. 4 singles position. Eliannne Douglas-Miron is second on the team with a 13-3 overall mark and a 7-10 record in dual play at No. 1 singles. Playing in the No. 5 singles position is Riko Shimizu who owns an 11-6 mark in dual play. Miki Kobayashi rounds out the double-digit wins list for UW with a 10-11 record in dual play.
Washington’s most successful doubles crew so far has been Lukac and Grace Ysidora, who are 12-4 on the year playing predominantly at the No. 3 doubles position. Douglas-Miron and Shimizu are 5-4 on the year at doubles No. 1.
EYE ON THE VANDALS
The Ducks and Vandals will face off once again in their final match of the regular season. Oregon hopes to send its seniors out with a win when they take on Idaho at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 19. The Vandals enter Sunday’s contest with a 12-7 mark in dual play and 9-1 record in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho will first take on Portland on Saturday, April 18, before squaring off against the Ducks.
Galina Bykova and Emmie Marx pace the Vandals with an identical singles record at 14-4. However, Bykova is 14-3 at No. 1 singles while Marx has split her time at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Bykova was also recently named the BSC Player of the Week after a weekend sweep in conference play against Montana and Montana State. Sophie Vickers trails Bykova and Marx by just one win, checking in at 13-5 on the year. Vickers has split her time at No. 3 and No. 4 singles.
In Doubles, Lucia Badillos and Rita Bermudez leads Idaho with a 10-4 mark at doubles No. 3. Idaho’s leading singles players, Marx and Bykova, teamed up to play at No. 1 doubles and are tied with Belen Barcenilla and Vickers with eight wins in doubles action.
MOVIN’ ON UP
The Ducks are once again ranked this week in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, checking in at No. 57. The last time the Ducks were ranked for seven-consecutive weeks was back in 2009 when UO was ranked for nine-straight weeks (Jan. 29-March 24).
The Ducks also made a splash in this week’s ITA singles and doubles rankings as teams head into the final stretch of conference play. Freshman Nia Rose moved up 19 spots in the ITA rankings after upsetting three top-25 opponents in as many weeks, checking in at No. 71.
The duo of Long and Marlou Kluiving were recognized for their stellar play at No. 2 doubles and moved up one spot to No. 65. Rose and Alyssa Tobita earned their first-ever doubles ranking, checking in at No. 60 after ousting the No. 23 doubles team in the nation last week.
POWERHOUSE PAIR
Oregon’s freshmen pair of Nia Rose and Alyssa Tobita has been a force to be reckoned with for UO at the No. 1 position. The two have compiled a 23-9 doubles record with two matches remaining in the season along with the Pac-12 Tournament. Their 23 wins so far ties them for second all-time in a single-season at Oregon. Rose and Tobita are just one win short of overtaking the former UO pair of Dominika Dieskova and Daria Panova (23-12) for the No. 2 spot on the all-time doubles single-season wins list.
