The roller coaster ride of a men’s tennis season continues this weekend with two home matches against very similar opponents.
In a season that began with top-ranked Stanford and winless North Carolina State, the No. 66 Ducks now find themselves up against No. 54 New Mexico State and No. 64 Pacific.
“Both teams are very competitive, competitive teams with wins over teams that will be in the [NCAA] tournament,” Oregon head coach Chris Russell said. “These are the kind of matches that we have to win if we want to make it there too.”
This weekend’s matches will have a major effect on whether Oregon makes a return to the NCAA tournament. The Ducks’ five losses this season have all come to top-30 teams. The Ducks are 2-5 on the season after breaking a four-game losing streak last weekend at Idaho.
New Mexico State comes to town tonight at 5 p.m. at the Student Tennis Center. The Aggies were hurt earlier this season when ace Marc Legris suffered a hip injury. Legris played a key role in last season’s 4-3 win over the Ducks. Senior Cesar Obieta has filled in, compiling a 7-1 record at the No. 1 spot. Legris is expected to play a limited role against the Ducks.
“We have found that Cesar’s game fits the No. 1 position week-in and week-out a lot better than Marc’s,” New Mexico State assistant coach Carlos Vargas said. “We fell into this spot by accident, and it’s like the best thing that could have happened to us as far as finding a No. 1 player who can handle the heat a little more consistently.”
On Sunday, Pacific visits Eugene at 2 p.m. The Tigers are 1-2 after starting their season this month. Pacific is led by the doubles team of Claus Lindholm and Tobias Abrahamsson. The Tigers’ No. 1 singles player is Dietrich Haug. Oregon players are 3-2 against Pacific players this season.
The Ducks counter with sophomore ace Oded Teig, who is 13-8 in singles play and coming off a big win over Idaho’s Eddie Brisbois.
Oregon also has its first ranked individuals of the season. In the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, senior David Becker and freshman Martin Pawlowski are ranked No. 45 in doubles play. The duo, although having only played together since early January, are 3-3 on the season with upsets over California’s Scott Kintz and Eric Dmytruk and Indiana State’s Jonas Piibor and Dalibor Mihajlovic in their first match together.
“They’ve been playing real tough lately,” Russell said. “They’ve been playing at the competitive level that we’re expecting from them, and we’re real proud.”
Sophomore Jason Menke has eight singles wins this season, second highest on the team.
Today’s match kicks off a three-week home stand at the Student Tennis Center.
“If we’re not competitive, we’re going to get pushed around the court,” Russell said. “But these are wins we can get and will significantly increase our chances of getting into the tournament.”