A 3-0 perfect start to the season quickly turned into a 3-2 record following the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff weekend.
Oregon came up short, falling to Boise State in the tournament’s opening round on Saturday morning.
The Ducks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, stealing a close doubles point from the Boise Broncos and securing a singles win from Mathew Burton on court 4.
The Duck duo of David Cierny and Ray Lo defeated Lucca Marquardt and Caden Moortgat, 6-3. On court 3, Avi Shugar and Vlad Breazu took down the Broncos’ John Chin and Jett Middleton, 6-4, to clinch the doubles point.
Although the Broncos started slow, they clawed their way back — winning three first-set tiebreaks and four of the matches going to three sets.
On Court 1, the 66th-ranked Quinn Vandecasteele was outperformed by No. 40 Sam Sippel, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Vandecasteele, who earned last week’s Pac-12 Player of the Week honors, could not get ahead of his opponent after giving up a 5-1 lead in the first set.
James Van Herzeele narrowly edged past the young Zian Vanderstappen, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-3. Vanderstappen’s fellow freshman teammate, Lenn Luemkemann beat Chin, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
Ray Lo struggled to get the Ducks to the finish line. The veteran lost the first set in a close tie break but came back in the second to tie the match one set all against Middleton. Lo had match point at 9-8 in the third-set tiebreak, but called a ball out that was overruled by the umpire. Lo ended up losing the third-set tiebreaker, 10-12. It was a heavy heartbreak for Oregon.
As the Broncos erupted in enthusiasm and piled on top of each other on the baseline, the Oregon men’s tennis team packed up their tennis bags and exited the courts in silence. The loss breaks Oregon’s five-match winning streak to Boise. The Broncos now lead the series 16-6 since 1988.
Despite a tiring contest against Boise, the Ducks came out strong the next morning.
Competition continued in the Ohio State Buckeyes’ tennis center as the Ducks played in the consolation round of the ITA Kickoff weekend against Vanderbilt University on Sunday.
Oregon took the early advantage in doubles, securing back-to-back wins on courts 1 and 3.
Vandecasteele and Burton upset No. 59 Nathan Cox and Jeremie Casabon 6-3. A surprising new pairing of Shugar and Lachlan Robertson defeated Juan Lopez and Hugo Coquelin to clinch the doubles point for the Ducks. Lo and Luemkemann were on track to take down Joubert Klopper and Danil Panarin, but the match went unfinished at 5-3.
With Cierny still out of the singles lineup, Breazu stayed at the No. 2 position and was quick to victory. The Romanian, who sat out of doubles play, eased past the Commodore, 6-3, 6-3.
On Court 6, Luemkemann lost to Coquelin in a tie-breaking set. The Dores were starting to gain momentum over the Ducks at this point. Lo lost his second singles match of the weekend, this time in straight sets. The score was now even at 2-2.
The unranked Panarin overcame Vandecasteele in a strange, scoring matchup, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.
Vanderstappen went unfinished on Court 3, with his tight two sets taking longer to complete than Burton’s three-set loss.
Cox bested Burton in a three-set win on Court 4 to clinch the final point for Dores; this 4-2 loss concluded Oregon’s run in the ITA Kickoff.
The Ducks will need to work on translating their doubles dynamite into singles success, as well as determining effective strategies to survive tiebreaks and third sets if they want to establish a winning record this season.
Oregon will remain on the road for the upcoming weekend when they take on Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin on Feb. 2 and Feb. 4.
