After a tumultuous regular season and weeks of uncertainty, the Oregon tennis teams are both on their way to the NCAA tournament.
For the first time in school history, both the men’s and women’s squads qualified for the NCAA Tournament after mixed showings at the Pacific-10 Championships on April 30.
The Duck men take on Fresno State in the first round on May 13. The 14th-ranked Bulldogs are 23-4 on the season and won the Western Athletic Conference crown this season. A loss in the WAC championship semifinals ended an impressive 18-game win streak for Fresno State. The Bulldogs are talented and experienced. No. 32 Peter Luczak holds the No. 1 singles position, followed by No. 42 Olivier LeJuene and No. 82 Rob Cheyne.
Fresno State “is a very solid team. They’ve played consistently and hard all season,” head coach Chris Russell said. “But it’s not like we haven’t seen this level of play before.”
The NCAA berth is only the second in school history for No. 60 Oregon. Four players from the 1998 qualifying team remain: Seniors Guillermo Carter, Joaquin Hamdan, Cedric Van Haver and junior David Becker.
The Ducks’ 12-9 record is the best mark under Russell, who is in his fifth year. What made the difference between a winning and losing record this season was wins against the Arizona schools.
“This is level of play that we have expected to be at and aspired to be,” Russell said. “It gives us a chance to take the program a step further.”
In addition to the team berth, Oregon has two players in the individual championships. Senior Guillermo Carter and freshman Leslie Eisinga earned a doubles berth after reaching the championship round of the Pac-10 championships. Carter also earned a singles berth after an impressive run at the Pac-10s. The individual championships will take place in Athens, Georgia on May 24.
Carter and Eisinga “have beaten the No. 1 team in the country and played took the No. 2 team in the country to the third set,” said Russell. “If they get hot, they could go very far.”
It was expected that the women’s season would end at the Pac-10 Championships, but the Ducks earned their third NCAA berth in four years, all under head coach Jack Griffin.
The No. 50 Ducks are 8-14 on the season, with quality wins over NCAA qualifiers San Diego State and Arizona.
Oregon travels to Tempe, Ariz., for a first round match-up with No. 32 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are a streaky team, opening the season 6-2, while finishing 1-7. With only one player ranked in the top-100, Mississippi State isn’t as top-heavy as the Ducks are; however, it is an extremely deep team.
No. 94 Amelie Detriviere leads eight players with significant playing time.
Oregon counters with No. 78 senior Alina Wygonowska and No. 69 freshman Monika Geiczys.
Should the Ducks make it past the first round, they will play the Arizona State-Army winner on May 14. The remainder of the championship matches will be played at Malibu, Calif.