Oregon women’s tennis is off to a strong start as it prepares to enter Big Ten play. Sitting at 8-3, the Ducks have not lost a match at home or against an unranked opponent. 

Their losses came against No. 22 Texas Tech University at the start of February, and last weekend in the Red Blue Invite against No. 60 Grand Canyon University and No. 40 Arizona. That is also when they picked up their only ranked win thus far, against No. 61 University of Denver.

Oregon has been led by players whose experiences range from first to fifth year. The most experienced member of the team is redshirt senior Olivia Symons. The Australia native began her college career in 2021 at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Oregon in 2023. Symons has been on and off the court a lot due to injury, but is currently playing at her best in her final season. She has not lost in singles in five matches.

At the top of the lineup in singles and doubles is junior Tilde Jagare. A native of Sweden, she won the junior national championship in 2021 and was ranked No. 564 worldwide before coming to Eugene. After struggling in the sixth spot as a freshman, Jagare gradually worked her way up over the next two years and now sits in the lead spot. She struggled a bit in the most recent three-match road trip to Arizona when Oregon played some tougher opponents, but she was on a winning streak before that. In doubles, Jagare and Symons are 4-2 in their last six matches.

“I feel like I’ve grown so much tennis-wise and staying in the moment,” Jagare said. “Every point counts. It doesn’t matter if you’re down 0-3, 0-5, lose the first set, you always battle, you always fight, and I’ve learned to love that kind of fight. That’s why I like the three setters. I like being in that close situation and I think that is something that has shifted a lot from my first year.”

In addition to the players who have grown through experience, there are also some true freshmen who have wasted no time getting into the starting lineup.

Hinata Furutani has been in several tournaments in her home country of Japan, where she competed against some of the most promising players in East Asia. In her first season of college, Furutani’s ceiling is incredibly high. She and Juliet Santitto did not lose a doubles match through the entire month of February. Furutani is 3-2 in her last five singles matches, with her most recent win claiming Oregon’s first ranked win of the season over No. 61 University of Denver.

Virginia Crocker has seen similar success in her young career. The No. 1 ranked player from the state of Louisiana and No. 41 in the US, Crocker has also competed on an international level and is already thriving in the middle of Oregon’s lineup. Her only singles loss in the past month came against No. 60 Grand Canyon University. In doubles, Crocker and Hadley Appling have won four of their last six matches.

The Ducks had a similar start to last season in non conference play, but their season was derailed when they went 2-11 against Big Ten opponents to finish the year 9-13. It is the matches ahead that will truly determine how much this team has changed in the offseason.

It is already clear that Jagare and Symons have taken tremendous leaps from where they were a year ago. The addition of Furutani and Crocker should also make Oregon more competitive. The four match home stand coming up will be crucial in determining the fate of the season.

The Ducks open Big Ten play at home against Maryland on March 6 at 11:30 a.m.