In the tennis crazed Pacific-10 Conference, Northwest schools can have a hard time getting respect against other teams.
Thanks to a little help from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings committee, the Oregon tennis teams are getting some appreciation.
Three Ducks were honored in the first release of the ITA weekly rankings. Sophomore Jeanette Mattsson is ranked No. 54 in women’s singles, and the doubles team of senior David Becker and freshman Martin Pawlowski is ranked 45th for the men.
Mattsson, a native of Osthammar, Sweden, is ranked 12th among Pac-10 players and is 5-6 on the year.
Becker and Pawlowski are 5-4 on the season with upsets over Cal’s Scott Kintz and Eric Dmytruk and Indiana State’s Jonas Piibor and Dalibor Mihajlovic.
In the team rankings, Jack Griffin’s women’s team came in ranked No. 53. The men are currently ranked No. 66 but should climb in the polls after last weekend’s wins over No. 54 New Mexico State and No. 64 Pacific.

2001 Rule Changes
The ITA and NCAA have adopted three new rules regarding men’s and women’s tennis for the 2001 season.
In women’s tennis, the Division I Competition Cabinet approved a new 3-6 format where three eight-game, pro-doubles sets precede six singles matches. This format replaces the trio of three-set doubles matches following singles play. The decision was made to shorten matches while ensuring at least two doubles matches.
The ITA also instituted two new rules regarding change-overs and warm-up time. The first change adds a two-minute set break at the end of every set. The second adjustment shortens the amount of warm-up time to three minutes from five between doubles and singles matches.

Home Sweet Home
After three months of play in the Student Tennis Center, Oregon’s new indoor tennis facility, the Ducks are a combined 5-6 under its roof. On the road, the Ducks are 2-3. Eight ranked teams have played at the Student Tennis Center, with many more to come.