At the San Diego All-College Tennis Tournament this weekend, a Duck was crowned King of the courts.
Oregon sophomore Chris King won his first-ever singles title at the Ducks’ first tournament of 2001 in California. King won five singles matches on his way to the crown. The Salinas, Calif., native beat Nick Tracy of Cal Poly 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the championship match Sunday.
“Chris did a great job this week and we’re happy with his accomplishment,” Oregon head coach Chris Russell said. “He’ll come home feeling good about his championship.”
King joined five Oregon singles players and three doubles teams at the three-day tournament. Not all of the Ducks were as successful as King.
On the singles side, Oregon junior Jason Menke advanced to the quarterfinals, while sophomore Martin Pawlowski lost in straight sets to Ricardo Rizo of San Diego, also in the quarterfinals. Three Oregon players — freshman Johan Paalberg, sophomore Greg Dubourdieu and freshman Kyle Halberg — fell in the first round. On the doubles side, all three Duck pairs had exited the tournament by the second round.
Several Oregon singles players participated in a consolation bracket after losing in the regular tournament. Three Ducks lost in the first consolation round, while Halberg fell in the consolation bracket’s quarterfinals.
King took a relatively easy path to the championship. He rolled over his opponents in the first three rounds, losing only 13 games in six sets. King lost the first set of his semifinal match with Arizona’s Colin O’Grady, 2-6, but went on to win the next two sets, 6-2 and 6-4.
“He really turned his tennis around after the first game loss and scored a big win,” Russell said after King’s win Saturday.
The San Diego All-College Tennis Tournament was Oregon’s first of the season. The Ducks will participate in two more tournaments this fall — including their own Duck Classic in November — before taking up match play in late January. Oregon will next travel to the ITA Regionals in Santa Clara, Calif., Oct. 26-29.