It’s been a season of milestone wins and broken records for the Oregon men’s tennis team.
The Ducks (18-5, 4-3 Pac-12) closed the regular season tied for fourth place in the conference, their best Pac-12 finish ever, and now head to Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, Calif., as the No. 4 seed and with a first-round bye, awaiting either Stanford and Arizona in the quarterfinals.
Oregon’s 18 wins are second-most under head coach Nils Schyllander, only behind last season’s 19, and its 4-3 win over No. 15 Stanford on April 16 matched the highest-ranked win in program history. The Ducks are currently ranked 21st in the nation and have been ranked in the top 25 for 10 consecutive weeks, the longest streak in UO history.
Individually, senior Jayson Amos has broken the Oregon all-time singles wins record (92), sophomore Thomas Laurent broke the single-season wins record (29) as well as the consecutive singles wins record (18), and Schyllander surpassed 200 career wins.
Photo by Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
The Ducks’ terrific regular season builds on the first-ever NCAA Tournament win last season, solidifying the program’s rise among the nation’s elite as Oregon prepares to face either the Cardinal or the Wildcats on Thursday at noon.
That continued success has the Ducks going into the conference tournament with a new level of confidence.
“We know we’re good,” Schyllander said. “We’ve shown that we can compete with the top teams in the country – we beat Stanford and went down to the wire with both UCLA and Cal – so we’re going down to Ojai with high hopes.”
“The guys believe they can beat any team out there,” associate head coach Jonas Piibor said, “we just need to continue to emphasize taking care of the details and focusing on the things that are within our control.”
The numbers support the Ducks’ belief in themselves.
Oregon is as stable as any team in the country at the No. 1 singles spot in Laurent, who has been simply spectacular this season as a sophomore and is up to No. 24 in the rankings.
“There really isn’t much to say about Thomas, he’s just good,” Schyllander said. “He’s as good as anyone in college tennis. He’s just so solid; there are no weaknesses in his game.”
The sophomore from Montpellier, France, has already broken the program single-season record with a 29-4 record, and he is 19-2 in dual matches with seven wins against ranked opponents while playing every match at the top spot. He won his 18 straight singles matches earlier in the year, shattering another Oregon record.
Junior Simon Stevens has grinded out matches and has proven to be a big emotional leader for the Ducks at the No. 2 spot, and junior transfer Akihiro Tanaka has provided a tremendous boost at No. 3 singles with a 15-4 record in dual matches.
Depth is key for success in the postseason, and the Ducks have that in spades with Amos, their lone senior and all-time wins leader, playing at No. 4. That veteran depth extends to junior Cormac Clissold at No. 5, who has been consistent all spring with an 18-10 record. Freshman Ty Gentry, a five-start recruit, a sophomore Ethan Young-Smith, who clinched the win over Stanford, have combined to form exciting young depth at No. 6.
In doubles, Clissold and Laurent have been tremendous, leading the way with a 22-5 record this season.
“We are confident in all of our guys and are blessed to have so many different players that can step up for us at different spots in big situations,” Schyllander said.
With as many milestones that have already fallen for the Ducks this season, they know that the truly important ones still lie ahead. The pursuit of those ultimate goals begins this week in Ojai.
Oregon appears to have at least a No. 2 seed locked up in the NCAA Tournament, but could move into a position to host in the first round with a deep run in the Pac-12 Championships.
If they can get past Stanford or Arizona, both teams that Oregon beat in the regular season, the Ducks would face top-seeded UCLA in the semifinals, a team they took down to the wire in Los Angeles earlier this season.
“UCLA won the Pac-12 regular season conference, and we lost 4-3 at their home courts,” said Amos, who was in the deciding match in Los Angeles. “I would love to play them again. We know the potential we have and what we are capable of accomplishing.”
Going far in Ojai would be yet another stepping stone for a program that is quickly putting its name into the conversation with the top programs in the country.
And the Ducks certainly believe they are capable of doing so.
“We feel like there aren’t any teams out here that we can’t compete with,” Amos said. “Our confidence is very high and we know what we have to do, and we also know how good we are and the potential we have as a group.”
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