Competing in a pair of tournaments, Oregon had a chance to make Sunday one to remember. Instead, the Ducks’ will head back to Eugene without any hardware.
Playing in the singles main draw at the ITA All-American championships, junior Thomas Laurent put himself in position to make history. After defeating No. 26 Yuya Ito of Texas (6-4, 6-4), Georgia Tech’s Carlos Divar (6-1, 6-4), and No. 13 Constantin Schmitz of Tulane (2-6, 6-1, 6-1), Laurent was one win away from becoming the first player in program history to appear in the All-American championship match.
However, Laurent fell just short, losing 6-4, 6-3 to No. 24 Martin Redlicki of UCLA. While the loss may sting at the moment, Laurent will more than likely get his chance at redemption against Redlicki in Pac-12 play.
“I am so proud of what Tom accomplished this week,” said head coach Nils Schyllander. “His focus, confidence, and professionalism embodies everything we strive for as a program. It’s been a great week.”
Oregon’s top singles player didn’t come away completely empty-handed, however. Laurent received an automatic bid to the ITA Fall Nationals in California.
While Laurent was at work at the ITA All-American’s, the rest of his teammates were competing in the Boise State Fall Classic.
Singles play didn’t go the Ducks’ way over the weekend, with Ty Gentry, Ethan Young-Smith, Simon Stevens, and Cormac Clissold all dropping their quarterfinals matches.
Doubles was a different story, however, with the pairs of Clissold/Soemarno and Stevens/Gentry each advancing to the final four. On opposite sides of the bracket, the duos had a chance to make an all Ducks’ championship. That wouldn’t come to fruition, however, with Clissold and Soemarno losing to Idaho’s Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto 9-8(7).
The Ducks’ other pair, Stevens and Gentry, pulled out an 8-3 win in the semifinals. The pair didn’t fare any better against Kovacs and Longhi Neto, though, losing 8-6 in the championship match.
Up next for the Ducks: The USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships in California, beginning Oct. 19.
Follow Cole Kundich on Twitter @ckundich