The Oregon women’s tennis team started the spring season off with a win Friday afternoon in Eugene, defeating UC Davis by taking two doubles matches and winning five of six in singles. 

Freshman Uxia Martinez Moral had a stellar first day. Martinez Moral won her doubles match 6-3 with fellow freshman partner Myah Petchey, and followed with a dominating 6-0, 6-0 singles victory over Shirley Hall. Martinez Moral was aggressive early, looking more like a veteran player than a freshman on the first day of the season. 

“I started really focused,” she said. “I didn’t really want to do big things today because I was a little bit nervous, but [it] worked, so I was proud.”

The freshman play was strong Friday, with two other Oregon freshmen secured their first singles wins of the season: Petchey and Lillian Mould, both from England. Petchey notched a two set victory 6-3, 6-2 over Lauren Ko, and Mould took care of Kristina Breisacher 6-4, 6-3.

While the younger players stepped up, the seniors still pulled their weight. Julia Eshet defeated Yana Gurevich 6-2, 6-0. Gurevich put up a fight early, but Eshet’s finesse and shot placement couldn’t be matched in the second set. 

The other Oregon senior Rifany Kahfiany won her first set 6-3 and won by retirement in the second set. 

In doubles play, Eshet and Mould beat Kristina Breisacher and Shirley Hall 6-4. After Martinez Moral and Petchey defeated Gurevich and Jessica Walker 6-3, taking the majority two of three wins needed to secure a team doubles victory, causing the Oregon duo Kahfiany and Paiton Wagner to stop their match against Sara Tsukamato and Lauren Ko with the score at 5-5.

The freshman-senior combo of Eshet and Mould worked nicely on Day 1, with Mould’s powerful style balancing Eshet’s fundamentals. 

“She actually has a voice, so she contributes a lot when we’re playing doubles,” Eshet said of her freshman partner. “She has this calm energy when she’s playing, so I enjoy playing with her a lot. She rips the ball from the back and I try to clean it up at the net.”

After a successful first day, the Ducks will continue their string of tune-up matches when Portland State comes to Eugene on Saturday at 12 p.m.