The Ducks rolled past the University of California Santa Barbara, 4-0, on Saturday morning. Oregon comfortably defeated the Gauchos in both doubles and singles play. 

In singles play, in particular, freshmen Luke Vandecasteele and Jesper Klöv-Nilsson quickly dispatched of their opponents. 

In doubles play, the No. 8 duo of Ty Gentry and Joshua Charlton were unable to complete their match that ended 3-3. They battled Victor Krustev and Joseph Rotheram in a back and forth match. Oregon’s less heralded doubles team were able to seal the deal for the Ducks and Oregon didn’t have to rely on the one-two punch of Gentry and Charlton. 

Charles Roberts and Vandecasteele took down Joseph Guillin and Alejandro Vedri 6-3. Riki Oshima and Emmanuel Coste defeated Alex Soto and Luka Vukmanovic 6-3. These wins showed the depth of Oregon’s doubles tandems as they were able to bail out Gentry and Charlton, who played from behind for most of their match. 

Oregon’s freshman shined in singles play as Klöv-Nilsson dominated Wilhelm Saiga of the Gauchos 6-3, 6-1.

“It was a solid performance, I tried to put in a lot of balls. I did a good job,” Klov-Nilsson said. 
On the other side of the court, Vandecasteele earned a victory over Soto. In the first set, Vandecasteele coasted to a 6-1 win, but the second set was much tighter despite Vandecasteele prevailing 6-4.
“Santa Barbara’s a super good team, we lost to them 4-3 last year, it’s satisfying to come out next year and put it on them real quick and get a solid win,” Vandecasteele said. 

It is encouraging for Oregon that the freshman players have been able to step up in a big way this season.

“It’s always nice to get a couple wins under your belt. That way you have more confidence for the rest of the season, especially when we get to the big Pac-12 matches,” Vandecasteele said. 

No. 14 Charlton won the clinching match in singles play defeating Vedri 6-3, 6-3. The sophomore once again came up clutch in a match that the Ducks won 4-0, but was still highly competitive

The other unfinished matches were between Oshima and Rotheram, Coste and No. 8 Guillin and Gentry and Krustev.
Oregon will face its biggest test on the season on Sunday when No. 17 Michigan comes to Eugene. 

“They’re ranked high in the country but I think we will have all the chances to beat them,” Klöv-Nilsson said.