Jamie Marshall has had the potential to be one of Oregon’s top tennis players, but several nagging injuries throughout her career have impeded that development.
The 5-foot-6 junior, however, now feels the best she has been in a long time and had one of many standout performances for the Ducks this weekend. The Oregon women (3-0 overall) won all three home dual matches, including a 6-1 victory over UC Irvine on Sunday at the Student Tennis Center.
Marshall, a diabetic, said she recently switched to an insulin pump to help control her blood sugar levels, which in turn has contributed to her improved performances.
“I feel a lot healthier and everything is working right now,” Marshall said.
The 21-year-old won all three of her singles matches over the weekend, including a straight-set, 7-5, 6-1, win over UC Irvine’s Hui Leow that clinched the dual match victory.
“I feel like I’m playing a lot better and I feel like I’m in better shape and moving better and everything,” Marshall said.
The flu and minor injuries also became concerns during the weekend. However, Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said he was “really proud” of how his team battled through it.
“I think the team came a long ways this weekend because we dealt through a lot of adversity,” Schyllander said.
Sunday’s victory was also the Ducks’ 11th straight win at home in the Student Tennis Center — a streak that dates back to last season when Oregon held a perfect 8-0 record.
“We’re comfortable in here, we practice here and we got great fans, so it’s a great venue to play at,” Schyllander said.
The bottom half of the singles lineup was one of the big reasons for the Ducks’ success over the weekend. Throughout the weekend, the quartet of Marshall, Anna Leksinska, Monica Hoz de Vila and Ester Bak combined for an 8-1
singles record.
“They played pretty solid,” Schyllander said. “Jamie Marshall played great all weekend and we just don’t make mistakes down in the lineup right now. I just feel like we played solid tennis.”
Oregon also captured a pair of 6-1 victories over Portland and Utah
on Friday.
The Ducks will next travel to Minneapolis for the Minnesota Court Classic on Saturday.
Men take two
The Oregon men (3-1 overall) continued their tennis success with two dominating 7-0 home victories over Gonzaga and Linfield Saturday.
“We just had to make sure we focused,” senior Sven Swinnen said. “We knew coming into the match, if we focused we would win, and I guess that’s what we did.”
Swinnen, ranked 16th in the nation, picked up his team-leading 10th win of the season when he defeated Linfield’s Tim Layman in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.
Oregon continues dual-match play at home with a doubleheader Saturday against St. Mary’s at 11 a.m. and Eastern Washington at
5 p.m. in the Student Tennis Center.

Alex Tam is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald