University of Oregon
Portland State
Ducks Sweep Portland State, 7-0
01/17/09 | Men's Tennis
EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon men's tennis team opened up the season in style sweeping NAU earlier in the day and doing the same against Portland State on Friday night at the Oregon Tennis Complex.
Senior Mikael Myrhed had another strong showing as he was the first Duck to win his singles match, 6-1, 6-2. Freshman Sho Higuchi nearly swept through the first collegiate match of his career with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Ayrton Wibowo and Jose' Izquierdo had the best showing in doubles action, dominating 8-0 at No. 2 doubles.
Please see live blog below for scores and match-by-match information.
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4:35 - With less than 30 minutes until the start of doubles play, things are very similar to the time before this morning's match. After a brief team huddle the warm-up CD gets fired up and the Ducks start to get loose. Mikael Myrhed and Jose' Izquierdo are hitting against Sho Higuchi and Ayrton Wibowo directly in front of me on court four while associate head coach Jonas Piibor is observing Marcos Verdasco, Alexander Cornelissen, Ric Mortera and Doug Mayeda. Director of Tennis Nils Schyllander and Portland State head coach Brian Parrott are entering in their respective starting line-ups and meeting with match officials. Parrott joined the Vikings in the fall after coaching at the Oregon Episcopal School in Portland for three years.
4:45 - The Ducks are mixing things up a bit with the music selection this evening, as there is a heavy dose of European techno or house or trance or whatever you want to call it. Mayeda and Mortera have finished their warm-ups on center court with coach Schyllander and are winging a football around on one of the side courts. I don't think Jeremiah Masoli has anything to worry about.
4:47 - Officials tonight are Steve Buzalsky, Steve Helberg and Ed Jafferian.
4:51 - I now hold in my hand ... tonight's starting line-ups. And the potential winners are:
Singles
No. 1 UO Marcos Verdasco vs. PSU Chris Rice
No. 2 UO Ayrton Wibowo vs. PSU Alex VanDerschelden
No. 3 UO Jose' Izquierdo vs. PSU Kyle Erickson
No. 4 UO Mikael Myrhed vs. PSU Jeff Cero
No. 5 UO Duncan MacDonald-Korth vs. PSU Adam Blackner
No. 6 UO Sho Higuchi vs. Branislav Valach
Doubles
No. 1 Verdasco/Cornelissen vs. Rice/Blackner
No. 2 Izquierdo/Wibowo vs. Erickson/Alex Hart
No. 3 MacDonald-Korth/Myrhed vs. Cero/VanDerschelden
5:00 - As Mighty Oregon blasts over the P.A. the doubles participants have gravitated toward their respective courts and are warm-up with some light volleys. Action will soon be underway in Oregon's second dual of the 2009 season.
5:02 - I was just told by coach Schyllander that there will be a change in the singles line-up as Sho Higuchi will make his collegiate debut at a yet-to-be-determined slot in the line-up. Stay tuned for the breaking news.
5:05 - The Ducks are in all black unis with white sneakers for this match while Portland State is sporting green tops and black shorts with white shoes.
5:07 - And we are under way in Eugene...
Doubles
No. 1 Verdasco/Cornelissen vs. Rice/Blackner 8-4
5:15 - This was the final match to finish the first point, with the advantage changing hands multiple times but Oregon prevailed to take a 1-0 lead ... 5:20 - Oregon's No. 1 doubles team stops messing around and earns their second point quickly ... 5:24 - All the Oregon pairs seem to be gaining a lot of momentum and Verdasco and Cornelissen exemplify that, mowing down Rice and Blackner in the third game to take a 3-0 lead ... 5:40 - Since my last update, both PSU and the Ducks have won a pair of points so the set now stands at 5-2 with the Vikings owning the serve ... 5:42 - The advantage continues to change hands with Oregon holding a 5-2 lead ... 5:45 - Rice and Blackner have put PSU back into the match at No. 1 doubles, cutting the Oregon lead to 5-3 ... 5:47 - All the action is at center court now, with an important point in the balance ... 5:48 - Cornelissen puts the game away with an over-the-head slam near the net that bounces up into the rafters and gives the Ducks a 6-3 lead ... 5:55 - Oregon takes the next point but Rice and Blackner refuse to give up and the Oregon doubles sweep is on hold with Ducks up 7-4 at center court ... 5:58 - Game, set, match as the Ducks sweep through the doubles session.
No. 2 Izquierdo/Wibowo vs. Erickson/Hart 8-0
5:09 - This is Izquierdo's first ever doubles match with the Ducks as he only played in the singles session this morning against Northern Arizona ... 5:10 - The first point of the night is recorded by the Ducks in this match, taking an early 1-0 lead ... 5:18 - Wibowo and Izquierdo are proving to be a very formidable team, talking strategy after every point and have breezed to a 3-0 lead in their match at No. 2 doubles ... 5:20 - Oregon breaks PSU's serve in a jiffy to go up 4-0 ... Izquierdo and Wibowo seem to be a perfect pair, with Izquierdo's booming serve and forehand mixing well Wibowo's soft touch at the net ... 5:23 - In a little less than three minutes the Ducks have put up another point and are currently skunking their PSU opponents 5-0 ... 5:27 - Izquierdo and Wibowo are really looking strong, Ducks up 6-0 ... 5:40 - Oregon puts away the set with an 8-0 winner on court four.
No. 3 MacDonald-Korth/Myrhed vs. Cero/VanDerschelden 8-3
5:12 - The Ducks strike first in this match, jumping ahead 1-0 despite a rally from PSU that tied the game 40-40 after Oregon was up 40-love ...5:15 - PSU ties the Ducks with a quick second point ... 5:20 - Myrhed and DMK have jumped ahead after a strong early effort from PSU but now lead 3-1 and hold a 40-15 lead in the fifth point ... 5:28 - Myrhed and DMK are finishing tough as they did in the morning doubles match, jumping to a 6-1 lead ... 5:41 - The Vikings' pair of Cero and VanDerschelden have upped the intensity and have taken two of the last three points to bring the score to 7-3 ... 5:44 - Myrhed and MacDonald-Korth took the final point in the match and have won the Ducks the doubles point for the night, defeating PSU's pair 8-3 on court six.
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6:00 - The doubles point goes to the Ducks and now the teams are getting ready to begin singles play.
6:06 - Sho Higuchi will enter the singles line-up for Alexander Cornelissen. Higuchi will play at No. 6 singles and all other Ducks will slide up to fill Cornelissen's spot at No. 2 singles.
Singles
No. 1 UO Marcos Verdasco vs. PSU Chris Rice (6-0, 6-2)
6:26 - Verdasco became the third Duck to post a 3-0 advantage over on court five ... 6:40 - Verdasco finished off the first set how he started, with three straight points to take the win, 6-0 ... 6:56 - Rice has made a match of it in the second set, jumping out to a 2-1 lead over Verdasco ... 7:15 - Verdasco did not lose another point for the rest of the match he strung together five straight points to win his second set 6-2.
No. 2 UO Ayrton Wibowo vs. PSU Alex VanDerschelden (6-1, 6-2)
6:24 - After his stellar performance in doubles play, Wibowo used that momentum to jump out to a 3-0 lead on his opponent ... 6:40 - Wibowo's strong night continued with a 6-1 win in the first set and the freshman took a 1-0 lead to begin the second set ... 6:57 - Wibowo is having a fantastic evening and finished off his second set in nearly the same way he did his first, with a 6-2 victory ... After Myrhed, he is the second Duck to finish his match and his win gives the Ducks a 3-0 lead in team scoring.
No. 3 UO Jose' Izquierdo vs. PSU Kyle Erickson (6-1, 6-1)
6:33 - The Oregon freshman's singles match is the slowest thus far, as he and Erickson are grinding it out but through five points, Izquierdo leads 4-1 ... 6:44 - Izquierdo wrapped up the first set in decisive fashion, with a 6-1 win ... 6:48 - Midway through the second game of the second set, Erickson slipped while making a cut on the backline and appeared to pull his left hamstring or groin ... The match was stalled for around 10 minutes while trainers attended to him ... 6:58 - After the injury Izquierdo raced ahead to a 3-0 lead as Erickson was clearly not himself ... 7:17 - Izquierdo won 6-1, 6-1 after putting together three straight points.
No. 4 UO Mikael Myrhed vs. PSU Jeff Cero (6-1, 6-2)
6:20 - Myrhed sprinted out the biggest lead in the early going of singles play, earning a 3-0 lead ... 6:32 - The man with the biggest early lead was also the man who put the finishing touches his first set, defeating Cero 6-1 in the opening frame ... 6:51 - Myrhed showed true dominance again in the second set by putting away the match with a 6-2 victory fueled in large part by his accuracy and placement near the net.
No. 5 UO Duncan MacDonald-Korth vs. PSU Adam Blackner (6-3, 6-4)
6:45 - In the last match to complete the first set, MacDonald-Korth wrapped up a 6-3 win over Blackner ... 7:02 - DMK and and Blackner are battling back and forth in the second set, with the score knotted up at 2-2 ... 7:22 - DMK pushed ahead 5-3 and was on the verge of completing the second Oregon sweep of the day but Blackner held on and tallied the ninth point for himseld, cutting DMK's lead to 5-4 in the final match playing ... 7:25 - After losing one potential match-clinching point, DMK would not be denied and skunked Blackner to win the final point.
No. 6 UO Sho Higuchi vs. Branislav Valach (6-0, 6-2)
6:44 - On the far court, Sho Higuchi showed his playing level is far advanced than his age, with a 6-0 sweep in his first collegiate set ... 6:50 - He continued his strong play in the second set by jumping ahead to a 3-0 lead ... 7:12 - Clearly Higuchi was ready for college tennis as he finished off an impressive match with a 6-2 second set win over Valach.
Players Mentioned
