The men’s tennis players can let their emotions get the best of them and, at the same time, inspire them to a new level.
This time, Oregon players (2-0 overall, 0-0 Pacific-10 Conference) took advantage of their emotions en route to a 5-2 victory over Brigham Young (1-2) at the Student Tennis Center Thursday.
Oregon swept the doubles side to earn the first point of the dual match after being led by the No. 1 team of junior Sven Swinnen and sophomore Arron Spencer. The duo came back from a 2-4 deficit by winning six of the next seven games to defeat Brigham Young’s Erik Nyman and Nima Roshan 8-5 in one of several emotional matches throughout the night.
Head coach Chris Russell said he likes what he has seen from his team at the start of the 2004 regular season.
“The guys are (playing) better than last week,” Russell said. “We definitely made some progress. Our guys are doing a good job in doubles right now.”
At the No. 2 position, Switzerland natives junior Manuel Kost and sophomore Thomas Bieri started their doubles match by winning the first five games, including two break points to carry them to an 8-2 defeat.
“We played very well in doubles,” Kost said. “We had good returns and good serving.”
The Ducks carried the momentum into the singles competition by winning four of the six matches, including the top two position matches.
Swinnen again set the tone by overcoming Nyman, who is currently ranked No. 80 in the nation, in a hard-fought straight set win 6-4, 7-5. Swinnen, who is the third Swiss native on the Oregon squad, said he focused on playing hard to beat his opponent.
“(Nyman) came back to fight,” Swinnen said. “I just stayed
aggressive.”
At the No. 2 singles position, the 6-foot-6 Bieri frustrated Brigham Young senior Richard Dasek with his size and power to easily win 6-1, 6-1.
Other singles victories included yet another emotional matchup with senior Chris King beating his opponent 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
Kost, who is battling a wrist injury after playing in a tournament in Switzerland during winter break, also won his match at the No. 4 position after defeating Roshan 6-3, 6-4. Kost said he hopes to recover and be back at 100 percent soon.
“It was hard to get through (the match),” Kost said. “I made the important points at the important moments (and) I returned well.”
Russell said those four players are showing what he expects from his team during the rest of the year.
“(They) did a very good job with their game styles,” he said. “That’s what we’re emphasizing each week and every match.”
Sophomore transfer Marcus Schiller, however, struggled in his singles match against Christian Hand, losing 7-6, 4-6 and 6-3. Schiller continually attempted to motivate himself throughout his match, including throwing his racket to the ground and yelling at himself.
He looked to turn things around after a pep talk with Russell during the second set. But emotions again got in the way and it negatively impacted his play in the third set.
“(Emotions) can take us out of our game plans,” Russell said.
Oregon will continue action this weekend when they host the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (0-1) Saturday at 11 a.m. and 72nd-ranked Pacific (0-0) Sunday at
11 a.m.