After coming so far and surviving through so much adversity, both Oregon tennis teams were struck down in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Ducks faced long odds in both tournament matches, and their opponents lived up to expectations.
The Oregon women were swept 5-0 by Mississippi State in Tempe, Ariz., while the men lost 4-0 at Fresno State.
Senior Guillermo Carter will have two more matches in a Duck uniform, as he’ll take part in the NCAA individual championships, while Oregon’s other two seniors, Joaquin Hamdan and Alina Wygonowska, have finished their collegiate careers.
Mississippi State’s depth proved to be too much for the No. 50 women’s team. The Bulldogs swept the No. 2 through 5 singles matches, all in straight sets. Doubles play and Wygonwska’s match against No. 93 Arnelie Detriviere were suspended because the contest had already been decided.
“Mississippi State was just a better team than us today,” head coach Jack Griffin said in a released statement. “Our girls fought hard, but they out played us in every match.”
In the second round of tournament play, Mississippi State was defeated 5-0 by Pacific-10 conference foe Arizona State.
The Ducks fell to 8-15 on the year. The NCAA appearance was Oregon’s second straight and third in school history, all under Griffin.
“We’re happy to have made the NCAA’s three out of the last four years but we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Griffin said. “It was a great experience for us to be here and hopefully we can build on it.”
The men faced a similar fate as the women — but against a higher ranked opponent. The contest was also suspended mid-way because Fresno State had already clinched the match.
The No. 24 team of Carter and freshman Leslie Eisinga lost a tough match to the No. 21 team of Andy Scorteanu and Rob Cheyne, 8-6. The Bulldogs clinched the doubles point on Olivier Le Jeune and Nick Fustar’s win over junior David Becker and Hamdan.
After Carter and Hamdan lost, Fresno State needed only Scorteanu’s 6-4, 6-3 win over freshman Oded Teig to clinch the victory. Sophomore Thomas Schneiter, Becker and Eisinga’s matches were suspended.