Oregon got back in the win column with a convincing 7-0 sweep of BYU on Friday night at the Student Tennis Center.
“It was great to be back on the court,” said head coach Nils Schyllander. “It feels really good to get back out on Friday night and play and perform at a pretty good level.”
No. 23 Oregon (9-2) took care of business against BYU (7-6) in its first match after cracking the top 25 of the ITA Rankings for the first time this season.
“It was a great effort,” said Jayson Amos.
The Ducks’ five-match winning streak was snapped with a loss at Minnesota on Sunday. They won the doubles point to begin the match, as the pairs of Jayson Amos/Armando Soemarno and Simon Stevens/Akihiro Tanaka each won their respective matches 6-1.
Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold were involved in an entertaining battle against BYU to wrap up doubles play. The Ducks’ pair would ultimately prevail in a tiebreaker, 6-5 (9-7). Laurent and Clissold are now 29-3 when playing together in doubles, putting them in a tie for seventh in Oregon history.
“That’s pretty good,” joked Schyllander. “You feel like you’re up 1-0 when they go out there.”
Just as they did in doubles, the Ducks would not lose in singles play. Tanaka started things off with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Pearce to give their Ducks their second point. Tanaka is now 8-2 in duals singles matches, and his strong play landed him in the No. 3 spot for the first time this season.
“Aki has been playing some of our best tennis,” said Schyllander. “Aki deserved it. He’s been playing lights out.”
Amos made history on court No. 3 to give the Ducks their third point of the match, defeating Jeremy Bourgeois 6-4, 6-3. Amos is now in sole possession of second place in Oregon history with 85 career singles victories. He is five wins shy of tying the record — 90 wins by Robin Cambier.
“It’s a great honor,” said Amos. “It’s not really something I think about on the court. But at the end of the day, it’s a nice thing to have.”
Added Amos: “I’ve been extremely fortunate to stay healthy. I know how lucky I am.”
Ty Gentry clinched the match for the Ducks with a 6-4, 6-1 win on court No. 6. Clissold earned a 7-6, 3-2 win after John Pearce had to retire.
All eyes were on Laurent on court No. 1 to close out the match. The sophomore completed the sweep for the Ducks with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 win over Cullimore.
The win is Laurent’s fourteenth straight singles win, moving to within one of tying the Oregon record of 15, set by Cambier in 2012 and his teammate, Stevens, in 2015.
“We joke about it,” said Stevens. “I’ll be happy if he wins more matches because it will help the team.”
The Ducks return to action when they host No. 42 Drake on Sunday.
Oregon vs BYU, 2/24/17
Student Tennis Center
Doubles
- Jayson Amos/Armando Soemarno def. Jacob Sullivan/Jeremy Bourgeois, 6-1
- Thomas Laurent/Cormac Clissold def. Keaton Cullimore/John Pearce, 6-5 (9-7)
- Simon Stevens/Akihiro Tanaka def. Aidan Carrazedo/Sam Tullis, 6-1
Oregon wins doubles point
Singles
- Laurent def. Cullimore, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2
- Stevens def. Sullivan, 6-2, 6-4
- Tanaka def. M. Pearce, 6-3, 6-1
- Amos def. Bourgeois, 6-4, 6-3
- Clissold def. Pearce, 7-6, 3-2 (Pearce retired)
- Gentry def. Carrazedo, 6-4, 6-1
Oregon wins match, 7-0
Follow Cole Kundich on Twitter @ckundich
