In their first match playing as a top-25 ranked team this season, the No. 21 Oregon Ducks extended their winning streak to eight with a 6-1 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
It had been ten days since the Ducks last played a match, but they showed no signs of rust as they produced one of their sharpest performances of the season. It has now been six weeks since the last time Oregon lost a match.
“We were eager to play, we did not like having a weekend off especially when we’re playing this well,” Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said. “When we play with good energy we’re good and today the energy was great.”
Oregon blew the Gophers away in the doubles match, quickly winning 2-0 to capture their first point of the match. Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold won their match first, and Daan Maasland and Simon Stevens followed with a win at the No. 2 spot shortly after to secure the doubles point. Oregon duo Armando Soemarno and Jayson Amos held a 4-3 lead at the No. 1 spot but their match ended without a score after the Ducks clinched the win.
“We knew (Minnesota’s) doubles were good and I am so proud of the way we came out on the doubles side,” Schyllander said. “This is the best doubles we’ve played all year from top to bottom.”
On the singles side, all five Oregon winners beat their respective opponents in straight sets, and two different Ducks won tiebreaker points to clinch sets.
Stevens won 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 3 spot to grab the Ducks’ first win. He was followed by a flurry of three Ducks who won their matches in a span of about ten minutes. Maasland (6-2, 6-3), Clissold (6-1, 7-6), and Amos (6-3, 6-4) all picked up wins for Oregon, while No. 6 player Ethan Young-Smith dropped his match 3-6, 4-6.
Oregon No. 2 Thomas Laurent took 15 minutes longer, but added yet another Duck win in straight sets. Laurent dispatched Minnesota’s Ruben Weaver 7-6, 6-2.
Minnesota was ranked as high as No. 23 in the nation before dropping out of the rankings entirely. The Gophers are now 5-7 on the season and are the last opponent Oregon will face in the regular season that is not located on the west coast.
“I still think they are a pretty good team,” Maasland said following the match. “We were playing at home and its always a little easier to play at home, but when they get one or two wins they will probably get more confident.”
The Ducks jumped into the top 25 of the Feb. 23 ITA Rankings, and dropped to No. 21 after their long break last week. They are likely to see their ranking continue to rise after their latest win.
Oregon will face Fresno State University in its final preseason match on March 12.
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