Senior Ty Gentry secured his spot in the final in the Duck Invitational after a comeback win on Saturday in Eugene. He defeated Boise State’s Kyryll Kryvchun in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Gentry struggled to find his groove early in the first set, missing shots that he normally has no trouble with. His frustration was amplified after several shots that deflected off of the top of the net and fell onto his side of the court. Things looked like they might spiral out of control for Gentry in the middle of the set, as he went down 5-3, but he forced the set into a deuce. He couldn’t finish the win however, and dropped the next two games to lose the set.
“I got a little frustrated with myself,” Gentry said. “I wasn’t giving myself a chance to just breath, clear my mind, and play.”
Kryvchun continued his strong play in the second set, and Gentry was unable to play close to the next, which is one of his strengths. However, Gentry showed his versatility by running down balls in the backcourt, and eventually won the set, 6-3.
Once he settled in, Gentry couldn’t be stopped. The shots he was missing in the first set were now perfectly placed as had Kryvchun off balance. Coming off of a first-round bye and playing only one match on Friday, Gentry held good energy in the third set, while Kryvchun appeared to be drained from playing seven sets Friday and a doubles match earlier in the day Saturday. The third set was highlighted by three consecutive aces from Gentry.
Wins are important for Gentry, but right now he’s focused on the bigger picture and improving his overall game.
“I’m working on a lot of things,” he said. “I definitely had some eye-openers when we were at regionals, and this is a chance to improve.”
As for doubles play, all of the Oregon teams were eliminated from the winner’s bracket Saturday. The pair of Emmanuel Coste and Brandon Lam defeated LMU’s Ryan Brown and Emin Torlic to reach the semifinal, only to fall to Simon Arca Costas and Blake Bayldon of Boise State. Lam and Coste failed to get on the attack early, and the dynamic pair from Boise State had them running and reaching for uncomfortable shots. The Ducks took a game early but couldn’t keep the pressure on, losing 8-3.
The other doubles teams for Oregon didn’t fare quite as well. Freshman duo Luke Vandecasteele and Jesper Klov-Nilsson of Oregon faced Boise State’s Kyryll Kryvchun and Wyatt Demulling, losing 8-1. The Oregon pair Riki Oshima and Gio Soemarno fell to Philip Hjorth and Ross Watson of Pacific in an 8-7 marathon.
The Duck Invitational will conclude Sunday, when the team from Pacific will play for the doubles championship against Blake Bayldon and Simon Arca Costas of Boise State, and Philip Hjorth will match up against Ty Gentry in the singles championship.
