Oregon’s 3-4 loss to Drake Tuesday came down to the last singles match in session. Ducks’  freshman Thomas Laurent faced  Drake’s Vinny Gillespie for a tense, match-deciding set.
In the first set, Laurent made up a deficit and took a win, 7-5, but in the second, Gillespie evened the score after winning, 6-1. The loss took the Ducks to a tiebreaker in the third, where Gillespie used a 4-2 lead to power through a 7-5 win over Oregon’s Laurent, giving Gillespie the set and match for Drake.
Tuesday’s loss was Oregon’s second this season. The only other defeat came Jan.24, when No. 4 Baylor defeated the Ducks, 4-2.
Oregon is now 13-2 on the season and is preparing to head into Pac-12 play against UCLA this Friday.
The Ducks had won nine straight matches before today’s loss.
Oregon secured the doubles point when Cormac Clissold and Laurent earned a doubles victory, 6-2 before Daan Maasland and Simon Stevens finished up doubles by winning doubles with the same score as their teammates.
Oregon’s one point lead didn’t last long though. Drake snapped up the first singles point to tie the score 1-1.
Stevens and Clisshold gave the Ducks the advantage 3-2 before Drake shot back with a win over Oregon’s Jayson Amos to tie the score 3-3 and put the weight of the match on Laurent’s shoulders.
Before today’s loss, Laurent was 12-2 in singles overall. Even with his 12-3 record in singles play now, the freshman remains among the top contenders for the Ducks in singles action.
After months of dual and tournament play, Oregon is finally heading into conference matches. It’s first match will be at home against UCLA this Friday. Play begins as 5 p.m. in the Student Tennis Center.
Follow Madison Layton on Twitter @MadisonLayton01