Another encouraging chapter was added to a promising men’s tennis season on Saturday, as the team defeated Portland 4-3 Saturday.
The Ducks are now 2-1 in the early part of dual match season, their only loss coming to then-No. 22 Boise State.
The day got off to a nice start in doubles play, as Oregon took two out of the three matches to win the doubles point. The highlight came when sophomore Jose Izquierdo and freshman Aaron Clissold defeated Portland’s Geoff Hernandez and Mike Pigou by a score of 8-0.
“I am very pleased with doubles play once again,” head coach Nils Schyllander said. “Great energy there.”
That energy was not as consistent during singles play, and the difference-maker came in junior Duncan MacDonald-Korth’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Portland’s Jackson Martin.
Seniors Alexander Cornelissen and Ric Mortera also scored wins without too much trouble. Schyllander was happy with the win, but knows that they will need to perform better in upcoming matches.
“I’m very proud of the guys’ fight,” Schyllander said. “But we did leave some opportunities out there to close out matches. We need to finish better.”
Senior Marcos Verdasco lost a closely contested match to Portland’s Filip Zivkovic (7-6, 7-6), while Clissold and fellow freshman Nico Bjerke also lost.
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