With the score at 3-2 against University of Portland on Wednesday night, the fate of the Oregon men’s tennis team lay in the hands of the two freshmen affectionately known to the Ducks as Paco and Marco.
The Ducks’ number two singles player was in trouble. Marco Verdasco’s big powerful shoulders slumped in frustration as shuffled back to the baseline after having slammed yet another forehand into the net.
That unforced error set the Spaniard back 3-5 in the second set of a match in which he’d already dropped the first set 6-7 to Portland’s Filip Zivkovic, a fiery Serb with a huge forehand.
It was beginning to look more and more likely that Verdasco was going to lose.
One court over from Verdasco, Oregon’s Francisco “Paco” Gallardo squinted across the net at his opponent as he prepared to serve for the match against the Pilots’ Joel Kincaid.
Kincaid had managed to break Gallardo’s serve midway in the first set, but the Mexican native fought back, winning three games in a row to take the set 7-5.
Now, with a 5-3 lead in the second set, and up 30-15 in his service game, Gallardo set up behind the baseline, bouncing around on the balls of his feet knowing that he was serving not only to win his match, but to secure the win for the Ducks.
Frustration emanated from the next court over as Verdasco found himself in a 0-30 hole.
Gallardo released his serve and the men rallied until Kincaid sent a volley into the net. 40-15. Match point to Gallardo.
Verdasco was now down 15-40.
Gallardo served again, and Kincaid returned. But Gallardo seemed to get stronger as the rally went on. With every stroke, he worked himself deeper into a rhythm that finally culminated in a cross-court forehand winner and an emphatic fist pump.
As Gallardo looked back at his teammates and grinned in triumph, Verdasco, who’d just lost his match 7-6, 6-4, sat down hard, slamming his racket into the court and burying his face in a towel.
The Ducks may have won 4-3, but Verdasco’s frustration was evident.
“The important thing is that we won, but I’m still so angry because I should have won my match,” said Verdasco, who agreed that his unforced errors had once again lost him the match.
Verdasco had a harrowing time last weekend. He lost 6-3, 7-6 to Nevada’s Benjamin David, and conceded defeat again later that Saturday in a close three-set duel against Idaho’s Stas Glukhov.
“Marco’s just in a little mental funk,” Oregon coach Nils Schyllander said. “He lost a couple of close sets, and I think he might have played not to lose instead of to win. It’s a learning curve. He’s got to step through that and he’ll be okay.”
Gallardo, on the other hand, was thriving.
“Paco just kept fighting,” Schyllander said. “See with this young a team, we learn every week, and he learned so much from Nevada and Idaho last week.
“He really stepped up and played the right way today.”
The Oregon men (4-1 overall) next take on Sacramento State at home on Saturday afternoon, while the currently undefeated Duck women (4-0 overall) host Michigan on Saturday and Sacramento State on Sunday morning.
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Dramatic wins power young Oregon squad past Pilots
Daily Emerald
February 1, 2007
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