There were some promising moments on Saturday in Eugene, but No. 67 Oregon women’s tennis (10-5, 1-2 Big Ten) didn’t have enough to overcome the heavily favored No. 17 Washington Huskies (12-0, 3-0 Big Ten). The Ducks never acted like they were out of it. Even if they were behind early, they continued to battle. Washington is the biggest challenge they’ve faced thus far, and despite what the scoreboard says, they never looked unprepared. Each Oregon player and pair played like they knew they had a chance against this tough opponent, but it didn’t translate to the final result.

“I think we’re really close,” Virginia Crocker said. “We’re competing with top teams and beating top teams. We’re right there, so this will make us even hungrier for our next matches.”

The Ducks showed some fight in doubles, but were defeated 2-0.

Tilde Jagare and Olivia Symons were defeated in their first game. They responded nicely in the second, but their opponents took the next three. Jagare and Symons got another one in the sixth game, but that would be all as they were defeated 6-2.

Patsy Daughters and Bridget Mihulka won their first game, but their opponents took the next three. They got back on the board in the fifth game, but their match wouldn’t be finished.

Hinata Furutani and Juliet Santitto went back and forth in their match with neither side leading by more than a game through the first six. After being tied at three, their opponents took over, winning 6-3 to give Washington the doubles point.

Furutani shut out her opponent in the first game, who responded with a shutout of her own in the second. From there, her opponent was in full control, winning the first set 6-2. Furutani fell behind again in the second set and stood no chance, losing 6-1 to conclude her match.

“I learned a lot of things from my opponent like serves and forehand strategies,” an emotional Furutani said. “I need to improve a lot.”

Symons was behind for most of her first set and never really stood a chance, losing 6-1. Her second set was a similar story as she was defeated 6-2 to give the Huskies their third point of the match.

Crocker won her first game before falling behind. Neither side led by more than a game before her opponent moved ahead 4-2. Crocker struggled from there and was defeated 6-3. She jumped ahead early in the second set, powering her way to a 5-0 lead. Her opponent did get on the board, but Crocker was still able to even up her match with a 6-1 win. She maintained her momentum through the final set, winning 6-1 again to give the Ducks their only point of the match.

“I told myself to get one point at a time and try hard for my teammates to keep the match going,” Crocker said.

Jagare jumped to an early 3-0 lead before her opponent got on the board. She appeared to be in control as she took a 5-2 lead, but her opponent put up a fight after that, coming all the way back to tie it and send the set into a tiebreaker. Jagare would fall 7-6 to close off a devastating first set. She opened the second set with a 2-0 lead, but her opponent was much quicker to tie it up this time. The set stayed close the rest of the way, but Jagare pulled ahead 6-4 to even up her match. The final set would not be played.

Mihulka was in a tight battle early. Her opponent went up 4-2, but she came back to tie it. Mihulka would ultimately fall short 7-5. The second set was another close one, but this time, Mihulka had the edge as she pulled ahead for a 6-3 win. Her opponent took the lead in the final set, but it would go unfinished.

Daughters was in a close one early, but after being tied at two, her opponent took over to win 6-2. She came into the second set firing as she took a 5-0 lead. Her opponent had a small fight late, but Daughters had no trouble evening up their match with a 6-1 win. She fell behind in her final set and couldn’t put up a fight, losing 6-1 to conclude the match.

The Ducks travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes March 20 at 3 p.m PT.