The Ducks competed against familiar faces this past weekend and extended their team record to 7-2. On Saturday morning, Oregon overcame Nevada (1-3) and former 2021-2022 teammate Youssef Kadiri, 6-1, before walking away with a swift 7-0 victory over Seattle University (2-6) for the second time this spring season.
Nevada’s small team of six players could not fill a complete lineup for the contest, as one player was out with an ankle injury. Matheo Coupu’s absence cost the shorthanded Wolves a match in both doubles and singles.
“We got the free win at three doubles, and I think we were all pretty flat-footed because of that,” Oregon’s Quinn Vandecasteele said. “We were just expecting them to give it to us.”
Instead of withdrawing, the Pack was hungry for a win.
The No. 31 pair of Vandecasteele and Matthew Burton traded games with Nevada’s junior pair, Kadiri and Edgar Destouet. After being down 3-4, the Wolves broke the ranked Ducks and shifted the momentum in the Pack’s favor. Nevada won three games straight, securing the No. 1 match, 6-4.
On Court 2, David Cierny and Ray Lo were overcome with unforced errors and dropped early games, putting them behind 1-4. The Ducks battled back, winning four of the next five games to even the match at 5-5. However, Oregon could not complete the comeback; Nevada’s Remy Tregoures and Loris Zisswiller closed out the match, winning two straight games to clinch the doubles point, 7-5.
“It was honestly the first doubles match we started slow this season,” assistant coach Arron Spencer said. “We’ve been playing really good doubles but we did not do a good enough job. Luckily, we reset and bounced back for singles.”
The singles session opened with Oregon’s Lenn Luemkemann being gifted the forfeit victory for the Ducks, tying the dual score to 1-1.
Nevada went neck-and-neck with the Ducks for the rest of the competitive singles slate. Burton bested Greg Valente on Court 5, winning 6-3, 6-1 to extend the Ducks’ lead. Freshman Zian Vanderstappen followed up with a 6-3, 6-4 finish over Tregoures at the No. 4 spot.
The calm Cierny showed his match play maturity against the Pack’s Destouet, never giving up and winning 6-2, 6-3. The Court 2 victory earned Oregon its fourth point, deciding the dual win for the Ducks.
The score was sealed, but the Wolves were still fighting at Nos. 1 and 2.
No. 93-ranked Vandecasteele and Kadiri were back on Court 1 for the second morning matchup, this time for singles. The former teammates swapped service games until Oregon’s captain broke Kadiri in the set’s final game, winning the first set 7-5.
“We obviously know each other and know each other’s games,” Vandecasteele said. “So, it’s a bit different, but it is good to see him out there playing well.” Kadiri, who only played one singles match during his career at Oregon, stuck with Oregon’s finest at both No. 1 spots. The French-speaking Moroccan seems to have settled in well with his Nevada team, including his head coach, who are all conveniently from France.
A massive serve up the tee secured Vandesteele’s 7-5, 6-3 victory and earned him his third singles win of the 2024 season. On the court beside the senior captain, Breazu prevailed with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 for Oregon’s sixth and final point of the dual.
Thankfully for the Ducks, their roster is twice the size of Nevada’s. So, when Vandecasteele sat out from doubles play in the Seattle match, likely due to dealing with ongoing shoulder and elbow soreness, Oregon had plenty of players to fill in.
Despite a delayed start, Avi Shugar and Lachlan Robertson made up for lost time on Court 2, putting away Seattle’s Julian Worn and Michael Frank 6-3. Oregon’s Breazu and Burton followed with a decisive 6-4 clinch at No. 3, while Lo and Luemkemann went unfinished.
“Tonight was a good opportunity for us to come out swinging and reset our standards, especially for doubles,” Vandecasteele said.
Vanderstappen was the first to finish for Oregon, beating Filip Stipic 6-0, 6-2. Shortly after, Luemkemann won 6-3, 6-1 on Court 5 over Yu-Han Hsieh. Making his first singles appearance this season, Shugar’s 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles clinched the singles point to seal the Oregon win.
“It is always in these matches that we want to maintain our focus and find something to work on,” Spencer said.
The team did just that.
“I just want to keep building for the rest of the season,” Vandecasteele said. “This weekend against Nebraska and the following in San Diego gives us opportunities to play some solid tennis and compete against strong players.”
The Ducks host Nebraska on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Student Tennis Center.
