Tucson, Ariz., is probably one of the least likely places to experience a rain-out, but that’s exactly what happened to the No. 51 Oregon women’s tennis team before its match against Arizona, in a weekend full of strange occurrences.
The ominous Friday rain-out was followed by a 5-2 loss to No. 8 Arizona State in Tempe, where No. 28 Daria Panova suffered her first loss of the regular season.
Oregon’s Panova lost to No. 21 Adria Engel in straight sets as the Sun Devils snapped the Ducks’ seven-match winning streak.
“We played a pretty good match,” head coach Nils Schyllander said. “We had a couple of chances, we just weren’t able to take advantage. It’s just a matter of taking them when they’re there.”
The Ducks’ lone points came from junior Courtney Nagle’s victory over No. 109 Mhairi Brown and sophomore Ester Bak’s three-set win against Joslynn Burkett.
The No. 69 men also had their share of strange delays, but at the Student Tennis Center, in a 7-0 victory over No. 75 Boise State. The lights over courts one and two went out and Ducks Manuel Kost and Sven Swinnen were forced to finish their matches on different courts.
The delay didn’t bother either player, though, as Swinnen battled back from losing the first set 3-6 to take the next two 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) against No. 86 Guillaume Bouvier. Swinnen came from 6-4 behind in the tiebreaker to take his match.
No. 64 Kost bounced back from losing the second set in a tiebreaker to earn his fourth win of the season and his first from the No. 1 spot.
“We had a really good week of practice,” head coach Chris Russell said. “And I think it showed.”
Senior Oded Teig celebrated his and Swinnen’s doubles win over No. 42 Bouvier and Marcus Berntson by winning his singles match in straight sets and moving within two victories of the Oregon career singles record.
Freshmen Thomas Bieri and Arron Spencer continued their dominance of the lower spots and remain undefeated in the dual season. Spencer won his grueling match 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) despite being hobbled by an ankle injury.
The women were scheduled to make up the Arizona match Sunday and the men host Pacific and California-Santa Barbara next weekend.