It’s hard to know where to start with the Ducks.
Each step forward is met with a step, or even two, backward.
The Oregon wrestling team traveled to Stanford Thursday in search of its first Pacific-10 Conference win.
The Ducks were coming off a close win over Army, something coaches and players alike felt was a stepping stone during a grueling stretch in their schedule.
Instead, Oregon received a reality check in the form of a 31-6 loss at the hands of the Cardinal.
The loss was the first to Stanford since the 1995 season.
Oregon entered the match against Stanford 1-5 overall and 0-1 in Pacific-10 Conference play and in desperate need of a Pac-10 victory. Now, the Ducks head into more Pac-10 action with a ledger of 1-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
“We are a young team and when you have starters out of the lineup it makes those matches even that much more important to win and we didn’t get the job done,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney said. “We lost five close matches that we were in and capable of winning.”
On the bright side for the Ducks, junior Luke Larwin continues to impress after earning his fourth straight dual victory. He defeated Brian Perry, 3-1. Larwin upped his record to 17-6.
Oregon also received a strong performance from senior Jake Leair. Leair out-dueled Ian Bork, 5-3, for his second dual win of the year.
Oregon started two fresh faces in the loss at Stanford. Freshman Elliott Tracy earned the first start of his career, filling in for fellow freshman Cyle Hartzell. Also, Johnny Lugo received his first taste of competition this season, but lost to No. 12 Brad Metzler.
Oregon has a chance to put the loss behind it quickly with a quick turnaround into today’s match against UC Davis.
Oregon will face the Aggies looking to even its overall record to 4-4. The Ducks have never lost to UC Davis in eight previous meetings dating back to the 1980-81 season. Davis lost to Boise State 21-12, for its first Pac-10 loss. However, Davis beat Cal State-Fullerton Nov. 21, 33-9.
Derek Moore leads the Aggies in the 133-pound weight division. With a record of 14-5 Moore is ranked fifth in the Pac-10, along with teammates Tommy Schurkamp, who is fifth in the 125-pound class. Jeff Bristol is third in the 141-pound class, while Kevin Jones is fourth in the 149-pound class. Mike Font is second in the 165-pound class, followed by Brandon Bear, fourth in the 184-pound class.
Oregon will then stay in Davis where it will participate in the Aggie Open Saturday. It will be an open event with potential matches in the shape of No. 21 Cal-Sate Bakersfield, Cal Poly, Menlo College, Southern Oregon and Fresno State.
“The key for us now is to learn from this, bounce back and be ready to compete,” Kearney said.