“Let’s go, boys!” the Oregon men’s tennis team roared as they commenced from their huddle. After opening 2022 with a commanding 7-0 victory, they soared into the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader in Eugene with extra confidence.

While there was a momentary scare after losing the doubles point, the Ducks thrived in singles, taking down the Weber State Wildcats 6-1 to improve to 2-0 on the young season.

All three doubles matches were neck-and-neck at first, the teams trading games back and forth.

The first two breaks occurred around the same time. Josh Charlton and Quinn Vandecasteele took a 4-2 lead while Ivailo Keremedchiev and Jesper Klöv-Nilsson fell behind 3-1.

Charlton and Vandecasteele handily wrapped up their 6-2 victory. Keremedchiev and Klov-Nilsson couldn’t keep up, falling short in some close games and losing 6-3.

All eyes turned to freshman Youssef Kadiri and Luke Vandecasteele in the deciding match.

Both teams’ benches watched eagerly, living and dying with every point. The set went to 4-4, then 5-5, then 6-6.

Once the match got to a tiebreak, Oregon fell flat on its face. Vandecasteele had a crucial double fault to make it 4-1, and they could never recover. They lost 7-2, giving Weber State the doubles point.

“They didn’t play well this evening,” head coach Nils Schyllander said of Kadiri and Vandecasteele. “This morning they played really well, and I think they just kind of expected it to keep rolling. But they never gave up, which was great.”

Kadiri was originally slated to play his first collegiate singles match, but after losing that tough doubles set, fellow freshman Ryoma Matsushita slotted in for him. Oregon otherwise went with the same group that won 7-0 earlier Saturday.

The tension from doubles vanished upon the start of singles play. All six Ducks won their first set, with Klöv-Nilsson and Luke Vandecasteele doing so in dominant 6-0 form.

Matsushita handly won his match 6-1, 6-2. Klöv-Nilsson won without losing any games, while Luke Vandecasteele only lost one. Quinn Vandecasteele’s 6-4, 6-3 win clinched the team victory.

“I played consistent,” Klöv-Nilsson said. “I played good earlier today as well, and this match just continued what I did in the morning.”

The teams played it out after Oregon clinched, with Charlton and Keremedchiev in the middle of closer matches.

Charlton won his first set 6-2 and led 4-2 in the second. He briefly let that lead slip into a 4-4 tie but held on to win 6-4.

Keremedchiev was the only Duck to lose a singles set, falling 6-4 after winning the first set 6-2. He won the tiebreak 10-6, securing a singles sweep.

“We just didn’t make many mistakes,” Schyllander said. “We were just solid, didn’t overplay at all in singles. So we didn’t beat ourselves, and just trusted the work we put in.”

Up next, the Ducks will host Portland State for a doubleheader on Monday starting at noon.