Complete Superiority. Start to finish.
In their first game of the season as a ranked team, the No. 35 Oregon Ducks (7-2) breezed past the Idaho Vandals (1-3) 7-0 in a Friday matinee in Eugene.
The win came without surrendering as much as a set to their Idaho opponents.
It started with the doubles matches and immediately the tone was set. The Ducks dominated doubles play snatching the ice breaking point with a 2-0 sweep. Karin Young and Allison Mulville jumped all over their Vandal opponents, winning their match 6-2.
“Karin and I click really well,” Mulville said. “We have good energy together; you can really see it on the court.”
Sophie Luescher and Ares Teixido Garcia capped off the point for the Ducks, also winning their doubles match, erasing a 3-1 deficit and winning 6-4.
“In the beginning, it didn’t go right,” Luescher said. “We had to adjust. We had to take away their strength. It was a tactical adjustment. They couldn’t adjust.”
While all six Oregon players shone bright in their singles matches, one Duck topped them all. The true freshman Leuscher, playing from the No. 1 spot, swept her opponent without ever giving up a point. In her two sets, she shut out Melissa Huchet 6-0. Pure control.
“I was calm and in the game,” Luescher said. “Today I managed it well. I built my points and waited for an opportunity. When I had it, I closed it out.”
Her point put the Ducks up 2-0. Seconds later it became 3-0 as Young finished off her sweep of Jayanne Palma, winning both sets 6-1. All of a sudden, the Ducks were on the doorstep of their sixth straight win, although there was little doubt they would close it out.
Cries of victory erupted from court No. 1 as Lillian Mould completed her sweep with a 6-1 second-set win, clinching the 4th point for the Ducks and putting a seal on the win.
Mulville capped off her day of dominance by sweeping her singles match with 6-1 and 6-2 victories, adding to the Ducks impressive afternoon.
“Training has been going really well,” Mulville said. “I’m excited about the season. This is my senior season, and I’m really trying to leave it all out here every day.”
The last two sweeps were but a formality for the Ducks. They didn’t need the points, but Teixido Garcia and Myah Petchey supplied them with shutouts in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively. The final 2 points capped off the 7-0 shutout that saw every Oregon player winning in just two sets.
Oregon will play its final non-conference game on Sunday against St. Mary’s (1-4), looking to extend the win streak to seven and remain undefeated at home.
