The word frustration can’t even begin to describe what the Oregon women’s tennis team is going through.
With a 5-16 overall record, the Ducks are well out of NCAA contention, but that statistic is deceiving.
Oregon absorbed its seventh one-point loss of the season at the hands of No. 46-ranked San Diego State Sunday. The Aztecs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, then outlasted the Ducks for the 4-3 win.
If the Ducks had been able to turn those seven 4-3 losses into wins, they would find themselves 12-9 and in good position for a postseason berth.
San Diego State capitalized on dominant doubles play, capturing the crucial doubles point with two 8-4 wins. The Aztecs’ Katja Karrento and Whitney Wells earned quick two-set victories in singles play to push the SDSU lead to 3-0.
That’s when the Ducks mounted their comeback. Freshman sensation Davina Mendiburu earned a gritty, 7-5, 6-1 win over Silvia Tornier. The Menton, France, native was playing at the No. 2 singles position for the first time this season. Mendiburu is second on the team in wins with 16.
Fellow freshman Courtney Nagle also earned a big win for the Ducks. The Danville, Calif., native fought Katy Becker into the third set, eventually winning by a tiebreaker, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (0). The win was Nagle’s sixth straight, dating back to March 31.
At the No. 6 singles position, junior Adeline Arnaud also won a third-set tiebreaker over SDSU’s Julie Chidley, tying the match at 3-3.
That put the pressure on junior ace Janice Nyland, who split the first two sets with the Aztecs’ Lindsey Hedberg, 6-1, 3-6. Hedberg then put away the match with a decisive 6-1 set to win.
On Saturday, the Ducks earned their fifth win of the season against UC-Irvine. Oregon swept doubles matches and the No. 2 through No. 6 singles matches in straight sets.
“It was a good day [Saturday],” Oregon women’s coach Jack Griffin said. “We played solidly. It was great to get a win.”
The Ducks have one remaining regular-season match in California, a Wednesday make-up match with UCLA, before the Pacific-10 Conference Championships the next day.

Teig shines in UO loss
Sophomore ace Oded Teig earned the biggest win of his season in a season-ending loss to No. 16 Washington.
The Holon, Israel, native defeated the Huskies’ No. 42 Matt Hanlin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 for Oregon’s lone point.
The win pushes Teig’s season record to 20-15 after his second win over a ranked player this season. Teig upset Arizona State’s No. 69 Nic Dubey April 6.
The Ducks managed no other wins, however. The Huskies won five of the six singles matches and swept doubles play for their 18th win of the season.
Sophomore Jason Menke took Washington’s Ari Strasberg into the third set at the No. 5 singles position but fell, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“We got great performances from Oded Teig and Jason Menke, but some of our young guys, our freshmen, showed our inexperience in singles,” Oregon head coach Chris Russell said. “Hopefully over the next year we will develop in that area.”
The Ducks finished the season 8-13 and 0-7 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Both Oregon tennis teams look ahead to the Pac-10 Championships this week in Ojai, Calif.