Cormac Clissold, a freshman on the Oregon men’s tennis team from New South Wales, Australia, found himself dug deep into a hole early in his singles match against Andrew Goodwin of No. 36 Alabama on Jan. 23. The No. 44 Ducks met the Crimson Tide in the consolation match of ITA Kickoff Weekend in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, less than a day after the beating they took at the hands of the home No. 7 Tar Heels.
Clissold and fellow freshman Simon Stevens had fallen 6-4 in their day one match-up with North Carolina’s Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider, the nation’s 27th ranked singles player. No Duck managed to win a set when the Tar Heels clinched the deciding point to complete the 4-0 sweep and hand Oregon its first loss of the season.
Senior Joey Swaysland played on court six for Oregon in favor of Clissold against North Carolina, but Clissold won the sixth singles slot against the Crimson Tide. Just prior, his doubles match alongside Stevens versus Goodwin and Danny Kerznerman went unfinished with the score knotted 5-5.
Goodwin had picked him apart en route to a 6-0 win in their first singles set, but Clissold had plenty of gas left in the tank. He battled back to take a crucial 6-4 second set win, and held a 2-1 lead in set three when play stopped. In what he described as his toughest test this season, Clissold fended off Goodwin long enough for Jayson Amos to deliver the knockout punch on court three.
The Ducks are 4-1 this season and Cormac Clissold is 2-1 in singles and 3-1 combined in doubles play.
Clissold said that the hardest part of his transition from playing at Leumeah HIgh School in Australia to competing for the University of Oregon was adjusting to the weather.
In his first month living on a new continent, a pre-business administration major’s course load and seven D-I tennis matches could not break Cormac Clissold. Winter in Eugene is a different story, even in a relatively dry January.
Cormac’s older brother, Aaron, played tennis for the Ducks from 2009 to 2013 and posted a 45-32 record in singles and 45-31 doubles record. Hearing about Aaron’s experiences at Oregon inspired Cormac’s desire to play for the Ducks.
“A little part of me always wanted to come to UO,” Clissold said. “After listening to (Aaron’s) stories all the time, it was a dream I had inside me. I pretty much knew what to expect.”
The men’s tennis team culture, however, took Clissold by surprise.
“I feel very close to everyone on the team,” he said. “It felt like home the first day I entered the locker room. It’s a really good environment; I feel like part of the group.”
Clissold and the No. 43 Ducks will host No. 66 Nevada at the Student Tennis Center on Friday, Jan. 30 at 5:00 pm and Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3:00 pm.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @kennyjacoby