Although the Oregon men’s tennis team is devoid of seniors this year and lack the collegiate playing experience of other Pacific-10 Conference foes, they make up for their youth with their poise.
“They’ve improved across the board,” said head coach Nils Schyllander. “We’re playing a lot more solid at this point than we did last year.”
The team’s confidence was boosted by a strong showing by several Ducks at fall tournaments in Seattle, Texas, and Florida. Junior Mike Myrhed advanced to the quarterfinals at the Texas Invite in early November while sophomore Marcos Verdasco reached the singles consolation final and also the doubles quarterfinals with partner Francisco Gallardo at the same tournament.
Sophomore Geoff Embry also had a strong fall season, reaching the quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Regionals in Seattle. The hot start has Schyllander energized about the regular season, which kicks off today with a match against Weber State at 10 a.m. followed up with a contest with Idaho at 6 p.m. “It’s going to be tough, Weber State is a very good program, and so is Idaho,” Schyllander said. “There are going to be nerves with the first match. We have to play all-out in order to get a W, but we’re excited to get started.”
However, the second-year coach said that the No. 1 and No. 2 players for the match will not be set until a couple of hours before the first serve. The competition for the top slot will likely come down to a choice between Verdasco and sophomore Alexander Cornelissen. Verdasco played two-thirds of last season as the No. 1 player, but Cornelissen had a winning record when playing in the pole position.
Although Cornelissen remarked that playing as the No. 1 certainly boosts his confidence, he doesn’t let the competition disrupt team chemistry.
“I don’t mind at all competing for No. 1,” the 18-year old Belgian said. “I just want to go out and play. The number is not a factor.”
When asked if the peak position will be consistent this season, Schyllander replied, “It’s such a long season and it’s almost impossible to predict.”
The unpredictability of the season has already hit the Ducks as sophomore Geoff Embry suffered a high ankle sprain in the fall and is out indefinitely. “Our biggest goal is that we wanna be playing in May,” Schyllander said, referring to the NCAA Tournament, a place the Ducks haven’t visited since the 2003-2004 season,”and injuries are the things that the good teams get through.”
The Swedish coach has prepared a difficult non-conference schedule that includes matches against ranked teams Fresno State and New Mexico not only to prepare his team for the rigors of Pac-10 play but also to help boost the Ducks’ résumé come tournament selection time. The young squad may be facing a brutal schedule both in and out of the conference, but the confident Ducks say they believe that they have the mettle to play well into the spring.