High emotion and high intensity characterized the dual match between the Oregon and Washington men’s tennis teams on Sunday at the Student Tennis Center.
The result came down to the last singles match between the No. 1 player on both squads, and, in the end, the Ducks came out on top by overcoming the 18th-ranked Huskies, 4-3.
Oregon head coach Chris Russell said he is proud of the way his team competed toward the end and how they overcame the emotion of the loud and raucous crowd cheering after every point.
“I think the guys did a good job of putting emotion aside,” Russell said. “They kept their heads down and tried to take care of their own business.”
The dual match tiebreaker came at the No. 1 position between Oregon junior Manuel Kost and the Huskies’ Alex Vlaski, who is ranked third in the country. All eyes were on this intense three-setter as Kost triumphed 5-7, 7-6 (12-10) and 6-4.
After the contest, teammates rushed onto the court, and the crowd gave a standing ovation to the third-year Duck. Kost, who is 8-0 in singles play, used a strong first serve and forehand to give Vlaski his second singles loss of the year.
What does this victory against one of the top players in the nation mean to Kost?
“It means more to me that we beat Washington,” Kost said. “We haven’t beaten them in years. We played great.”
The Ducks (7-2 overall) ended their losing streak against Washington that dated back to 1947.
“We have been haunted (by the streak) for a while,” Russell said. “But finally, we’re no longer haunted.”
Oregon took a 2-0 lead after winning two of the three doubles matches and sophomore Thomas Bieri’s straight-set match against Christoph Palmanshofer, 6-3 and 6-4 at the No. 3 position.
Doubles were led by the duo of Kost and Bieri, who overcame the 45th-ranked team of Vlaski and freshman Alex Slovic, 8-4.
The Huskies came back to tie the dual match at 2-2 when the Ducks lost both singles contests at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions.
Junior Sven Swinnen, who is rated No. 92 in the country, gave Oregon a 3-2 lead with two matches left after he beat the left-handed Slovic in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, and 6-3 at the No. 2 position.
Needing one more singles win to cement the victory, sophomore Markus Schiller could not get past Huskies freshman Daniel Chu despite winning the first set in a 6-7, 6-3, and 6-3 loss.
The dual match tiebreaker was up to Kost, who said he can still play better and is not yet satisfied with the victory.
“It’s great beating the No. 3 player in the country,” Kost said. “(But) I’m still trying to get better. It is not over yet.”