It’s a cliche to say, but in this case it really holds true.
Tennis is a game of inches.
Oregon men’s tennis player Oded Teig experienced first hand Monday how closely separated victory and defeat are.
The sophomore had advanced to the Round of 16 at the ITA Regional in Berkeley, Calif., but was eliminated in a hard-fought match to Washington’s Matt Hanlin 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
Teig, who was the No. 10 seed in the tournament, had a match point against third-seeded Hanlin, but couldn’t convert. Hanlin stayed in the game due to a favorable bounce of the ball off a drop shot.
Hanlin’s ball hit against the top of the net, and instead of coming back onto his side, rolled over to Teig’s side for the point. With new life, Hanlin went on to beat the last surviving Duck in the tournament.
“Oded had his chances and was literally an eighth-of-an-inch from winning,” head coach Chris Russell said. “The guy came up with a real big shot.”
Russell wasn’t surprised at all to see two Pacific-10 Conference rivals go down to the wire.
“It was a classic Oregon-Washington battle,” Russell said. “We’ll probably see those two play a few more times this year.”
Teig reached the Round of 16 after cruising by two opponents Sunday. He began the day with an 8-4 victory over Sacramento State’s Kevin Vieira, and finished up with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Boris Vallejo of St. Mary’s.
“He’s playing at a much different level this year,” Russell said. “He’s been extremely competitive in every match he’s played.”
Jason Menke and Buck Mink also performed admirably throughout the tournament. Menke, a sophomore from Portland’s Westview High, outlasted Santa Clara’s Matt Cox, 9-7, in the second round. He was knocked off in the next round, however, by Washington’s Jason Berman 6-1, 6-1.
Mink squeaked by Adam Artunian of Santa Clara, 9-8, but had no answer for California’s Balazs Veress in the second round, falling in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
Mink and Teig also teamed up to play in the doubles competition, and advanced to the second round before losing 8-0 to the Gonzaga pair of Timo Barry and Shawn Whitney.
Oregon has the rest of the week off before hosting the Duck Classic Nov. 10-12 in its new indoor facility behind McArthur Court.