It will no doubt go down in history as one of the greatest seasons ever. Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams broke many records in the 1999-2000 season.
After earning incredible upsets during the Pacific-10 Conference season, both squads qualified for the NCAA tournament for only the second time in school history. Although both teams lost in the first round, Oregon was one of the few schools in the nation to send both the men’s and women’s squads.
Because they were so successful in the regular season, the Ducks earned many awards. Men’s head coach Chris Russell earned the Pac-10 Coach of the Year award after guiding his team to a fifth-place finish in the conference. It was the first conference award for Russell, who is in his fifth year at Oregon. Senior Guillermo Carter earned first team All-Pac-10 honors for his many upsets in the regular season, including knocking off Stanford’s then-No. 3 Geoff Abrams. The Guadalajara, Mexico, native went on to earn All-American status after an incredible run in the NCAA individual championships.
In early April, the men defeated Arizona and Arizona State on consecutive days, marking the first two-win conference season for the Ducks and the first time the Ducks had ever finished higher than ninth.
The women also earned a big win against Arizona. The upset victory probably decided Oregon’s postseason fate and was the first win over a southern division Pac-10 school by a northern division school ever.
Both teams also set a landmark in the national rankings. The Duck men had two players ranked in the top-100 for the first time ever in Carter and sophomore Thomas Schneiter for the men. The same story applied for the women as senior Alina Wygonowska and freshman Monika Geiczys also cracked the century mark.
The 2000 season also saw an invasion of the Oregon record books. Wygonowska became the all-time leader in career singles wins with 64 after a 21-14 regular season. The senior from Gydina, Poland surpassed former teammate Shanelle Kaneshiro on the list five matches into the season.
Sophomores Adeline Arnaud and Janice Nyland also made the career list, moving up to third and fourth, respectively.
On the men’s side, four Ducks moved into the record books. Freshman Oded Teig’s 22 wins were enough for second on the single season list, followed closely behind by senior Joaquin Hamdan at third with 21. The NCAA qualifying team of Carter and freshman Leslie Eisinga won 18 matches for second on the single season doubles list and was eighth on the career list.
Wygonowska, an honorable mention All-Pac-10 pick, finished her career as Oregon’s only four-time NCAA qualifier and will be sorely missed next season. Carter, Hamdan and Cedric VanHaver, the men’s team’s only seniors, will also be missed.
But both Russell and women’s head coach Jack Griffin are optimistic for next season. Seven players return on each squad, led by two of the best freshmen to ever come to Oregon: Teig and Geiczys. With several prized recruits lined up, the future looks very bright for the Ducks.