The University tennis club finished its year with a flourish, capturing first place at the United States Tennis Association Pacific Northwest section’s end-of-the-year tournament for club teams, known as “The Dawg Brawl,” at the University of Washington on May 20-21.
This was Oregon’s second straightvictory at the event. With the win, the club also earned the Club Cup, awarded to the best club team in the region, for the second consecutive year.
The Ducks came to Seattle in the middle of a three-way tie with Western Washington and host Washington because the three squads had split the previous meetings between themselves. To begin the tournament, Oregon faced off against Seattle University, Western Washington and Washington State in round-robin play. Each match between the schools consisted of five matches – men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles to be capped off by a mixed doubles match. The winner was determined by the number of games won in those five matches.
The Ducks’ first match against Seattle University ended with an Oregon sweep of the contest and a lopsided score of 30-11. The next match against Western Washington presented a much stiffer challenge. In the last moments of the match, mixed doubles team Ryan Wahl and Andrea Takamiya took the final two games to give the Ducks a win, 25-24.
Oregon’s final match of the day, against Washington State, contained another exciting finish. Patrick Wilhelm and Beth Miller needed a 6-2 result in the mixed doubles match for the win. They took the match 6-1 to seal the come-from-behind victory. After the tournament, Wilhelm and Miller were voted Most Inspirational and Most Valuable players, respectively, by their teammates.
By sweeping their pool, the Ducks earned the No. 1 seed in the championship bracket for knockout play on Sunday.
“It makes it a little more relaxing for the next day,” club coordinator Erin Small said.
For its semifinal match, Oregon drew in-state rival Oregon State. However intense the rivalry, the action on the courts was decisive in favor of the Ducks, as they doubled up the Beavers, winning 30-15.
Oregon was looking to avenge a close loss to Washington earlier in the year when they faced the Huskies in the championship. Despite playing on its home courts, Washington was not able to mount a serious challenge against the Ducks, who walked away with a 29-18 win.
“We were expecting a tough match,” Small said. “We were nervous and then surprised.”
The club appears to be in a good position to build on the success of the last two years. The team will lose only seven members of the 28-player roster to graduation. Although there won’t be many holes to address, the departure of twin sisters Erin and Beth Miller will be difficult to fill.
“The great thing about them is that you can relax when they’re out there,” Small said. “You know they’ll find a way to pull it out.”
The Ducks’ title defense will begin in the fall with a campus tournament open to all and tryouts for the final roster.
“The team was much stronger this year,” Small said. “It seemed like the closer we got (to the title) the harder we played for it.”