Since the University of Oregon men’s tennis team finished their last match of the 2022-2023 season, the players adhered to an 8-hour off-season practice schedule, with three days of practices and two days of lifting each week. The reduction in training hours gave the players time to rest, study and socialize in Eugene before school let out for the summer. The men’s team plans to enjoy the break, while also maintaining a busy individual tennis schedule in preparation for the 2023-2024 tennis season. 

Here’s what a few of the returning men’s tennis players will be up to this summer break:  

Quinn Vandecasteele

Quinn Vandecasteele, rising senior, was the first to leave campus. After finishing his product design finals last Friday, Vandecasteele drove down to Southern California to compete in the 2023 SoCal Pro Series, a seven-week long USTA pro circuit event. He will enter in both singles and men’s doubles, in the series’ five remaining events: June 12-18 in San Diego, June 19-25 in Los Angeles, June 26-July 2 in Irvine, and July 3-9 and July 10-16 in Lakewood. 
Following the final round of tournament play in Lakewood, Vandecasteele will spend some time in northern California, where he “can play with [his] Pac-12 opponents and friends on the Stanford and University of California Berkeley men’s teams.” 

Despite having ample training partners, Vandecasteele said it is “hard to maintain momentum in the off-season, since the dynamic in the summer schedule is different. Instead of the standard college practice and match routine, during the summer I can go from playing six consecutive days of matches at a pro tournament to then having a long lull in my matchplay schedule.” 

His routine may fluctuate, but his priorities, to play lots of tennis and hopefully make money, remain constant. 

Vandecasteele’s plans are up in the air come August. He may travel around the MidWest to play in low-level pro tournaments, similar to the SoCal Pro Series, or he might travel abroad to Europe. The Ute has family in Belgium, so that might be a likely home-base for Vandecasteele, as he could enter ITF prize money tournaments throughout the region. Since the tournament travel and expenses are self-funded, he said there is always an underlying pressure to perform well and breakeven the costs.

In addition to working on his tennis game this summer, he also has to prepare to fill a large leadership position in the 2023-24 season. Vandecasteele will be the only senior on the Ducks roster that is welcoming at least five new players in the fall. 
Russell Soohoo:

On June 16, Russell Soohoo, a rising sophomore on the men’s team, left Eugene for San Rafael de Brunka, Costa Rica, with Courts For Kids — an organization that facilitates the construction of sport courts in rural areas around the world. Soohoo and a group of 24 other UO student-athletes will engage in a 10-day service project where they will learn from the community and work together to build an outdoor basketball court. 

Soohoo heard about this opportunity from the men’s tennis assistant coach, Aaron Spencer. Spencer went on a similar service trip with UO when he was a Duck in the early 2000s. Soohoo said that he “look[s] forward to this cross-cultural experience.”
After the service trip, Soohoo will return home to San Diego, California, and get back into his tennis routine. Soohoo plans to practice with his former hitting partners five to six times a week and lift or condition three times a week at his local tennis club. His training schedule will adapt based on whether or not he has a tournament coming up. Newport Beach Tennis Club, a popular, weekly host for UTR Pro Tennis Tour events, is a likely tournament destination for Soohoo. He said he plans to compete in about two of these UTR tournaments a month for a chance to play high-level opponents in both singles and doubles matches. 

“For me, the most important thing this summer is to get a lot of matchplay in – it is something I need to have going into next season, since I did not really have any playing time this year,” Soohoo said. 

The freshman only played in one match this past season versus Portland State, where he lost to his opponents in both singles and doubles. 

Off the court, the San Diego native said he is excited to spend time at the beach with friends and listen to some of his favorite music. 
“One thing I am looking forward to this summer is going to the Taylor Swift concert in LA,” said Soohoo, who is an unapologetically “big T-Swift fan.”

He said his Era Tour-inspired outfit is still a work-in-progress. 
Also in progress, are the relationships he is forming with the new recruits. Soohoo has already practiced with one of the signees, Matthew Greschner, an incoming freshman from Corvallis, Oregon. Soohoo said he is in contact with the other international recruits over the phone, and he says the excitement for next season is building among the returning and incoming players. 

Vlad Breazu: 

After a successful freshman season at the No. 5 singles spot and first year in the business school, Vlad Breazu flew back home to Bucharest, Romania. 
“My freshman year was an amazing experience – I just love to be a Duck,” said Breazu. “At the same time, I am really excited to go back to Romania and see my family and friends.” 
Over the summer, Breazu plans to compete in roughly eight ITF tournaments throughout Romania. As of now he has his eyes on two ITF 15K prize money tournaments: one hosted in Cluj Napoca, July 19-25, and the other in Curtea de Arges from August 7-13. Additionally, there are multiple ITF 25Ks dispersed around his home country, located in Brasov from July 3-9, Bacau from July 24-30, and Pitestesti from July 31-August 6. 
Breazu will likely travel to each of these tournaments with his former Bucharest-based training partners and coaching staff. The player group consists of Breazu’s close childhood friend, who plays D1 tennis at Jacksonville State, and a few older tennis players, who compete year-round on the pro-tour in Europe. 

During summer practice and matchplay, he wants to focus on his backhand and doubles play – two inconsistent elements of his game from this past season. He will strive to get better while playing on a different court surface, one that he is far more familiar with – clay courts. 

“In Romania, I only play on clay courts. So, it is going to be a bit different to get used to, since I have only been playing on hard courts in the US. I am looking forward to returning to clay court tennis because I grew up on it and know it so well.”

In addition to getting used to the slower pace of the ball on clay, Breazu will adjust to the change of pace in his academic and social life. Outside of tennis, Breazu hopes to get to the beach with friends frequently and enjoy the Romanian summer festivals. 

The rising sophomore looks forward to his return to Eugene in September, but he is not shy to admit that family time, native language practice, and clay court tennis is much needed right now. 

Here are some of the men’s summer tennis-related favorites:

To stay hydrated in the summer heat do you drink Gatorade, Powerade or Pedialyte? 

Pedialyte: Vandecasteele and Soohoo 

Gatorade: Breazu 

Is your practice playlist mostly rap, country, or alternative?

Alternative (pop): Vandecasteele and Soohoo 

Rap: Breazu 

On your off-days are you going to the beach, mountains, or staying in bed? 

Beach: Vandecasteele, Soohoo  and Breazu