University of Oregon
#4 UCLA
Upset-Minded Ducks Fall Short in Loss to No. 4 UCLA, 5-2
03/29/15 | Women's Tennis
EUGENE – The Oregon women's tennis team gave No. 4 UCLA a run for its money on Saturday at the Student Tennis Center, but the Ducks fell just short of the upset,5-2.
How It Happened: The Ducks continued to make a splash in Pac-12 play under first-year head coach Alison Silverio when the UO doubles pair of Marlou Kluiving and Nicole Long ousted the No. 1 doubles pair in the country.
Going up against the nation's top-ranked doubles team of Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips didn't faze the UO (8-7, 2-3) couple as they toppled the Bruins' pair, 8-5, at the No. 2 doubles slot. Kluiving and Long led the entire match with 5-5 being the closest the Bruins got.
Shortly after, UCLA (14-3, 4-1) wrapped up the doubles point with wins from at No. 3 and No. 1. Lina Åkesson and Sofia Hager held on as long as they could, but eventually fell to Chanelle Van Nguyen and Kristin Wiley, 8-2. UCLA clinched the doubles point when Robin Anderson and Jennifer Brady, the No. 23 doubles team in the nation, defeated Nia Rose and Alyssa Tobita 8-4.
The Bruins took the early 2-0 lead after Paloma Gomez fell 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 6 slot to Terri Fleming who moved into the sixth slot after McPhillips was replaced at the No. 4 singles position.
Leading 3-2 in the second set, Tobita picked up Oregon's first point in singles play when No. 46 Brady retired from the match at singles No. 2.
However, the Bruins would get the point back when Anderson – the nation's top-ranked player – refused to be another victim of Rose at the No. 1 singles spot and defeated the freshman in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
With the 7-5, 6-1 upset of No. 13 Van Nguyen at the No. 3 singles position, Long cut the UCLA lead to 3-2 and put the pressure on the Bruins' No. 4 and No. 5 singles players.
UCLA clinched the match after an epic battle at No. 4 singles between Kluiving and No. 53 Harrison. Kluiving clawed her way back every single time she went down and had multiple opportunities to force a third set, but fell short in a heartbreaking loss, 6-2, 7-6 (12).
With the match clinched, Åkesson and Wiley's match went to 10-point tiebreaker instead of playing a full third set. Åkesson, like Kluiving, had multiple opportunities during the tiebreaker to win the match, but wasn't able to clinch the point and eventually fell 4-6, 6-3, 1-0.
Quotable:
UO head coach Alison Silverio
On how the team battled No. 4 UCLA…
“I was so proud to see our girls capitalize on the little victories we had yesterday against No. 1 USC and coming back with a quick turnaround to play No. 4 UCLA. UCLA is a very talented team and we put ourselves in winning positions in many spots today. I'm proud of the way our team made another jump in the right direction. To play against two of the top teams in the nation and to compete and battle the way we did, proves to ourselves we're moving in the right direction.”
On moving on from this weekend…
“Our next step is to continually believe in ourselves and what we're doing and the process because we are right there…we are right there. We're going to continue to work hard and come out consistently, intense and have that determination to keep building from a phenomenal weekend.”
Senior Nicole Long
Thoughts on mindset coming into doubles match…
We honestly didn't even know they were No. 1, we found out after our meeting for singles. We wanted to be active at the net and be aggressive, that's about it really. We just played so much smarter and in sync today. To just be aggressive from the back, at the net and made our moves when the time came. Our footwork was also key throughout the match.
Thoughts on the momentum heading into her singles match…
“I knew what I wanted to do, but I did feel momentum coming in. I knew she was a great player and knew it was going to be really tough, but the momentum really helped me more with my mentality and aggressiveness rather than my game.”
Sophomore Marlou Kluiving
On what was said when UCLA tied it up at 5-5 in doubles…
They had great shots, and we had to respect those shots because how great of players they are. We just took it upon ourselves to keep going and not change anything because they were good.
Up Next: The Ducks now hit the road for a pair of matches against the Bay Area teams. UO will have Stanford on tap first with a 1:30 p.m. (PT) first serve on Friday, April 3.
#4 UCLA 5, #56 Oregon 2March 28, 2015
Eugene, Ore.
Student Tennis Center
Singles
1. #1 Robin Anderson (UCLA) def. Nia Rose (ORE) 6-1, 6-1
2. Alyssa Tobita (ORE) def. #46 Jennifer Brady (UCLA) 6-2, 3-2 (Ret.)
3. Nicole Long (ORE) def. #13 Chanelle Van Nguyen (UCLA) 7-5, 6-1
4. #53 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) def. Marlou Kluiving (ORE) 6-2, 7-6 (12)
5. Kristin Wiley (UCLA) def. Lina Åkesson (ORE) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (13-11)
6. Terri Fleming (UCLA) def. Paloma Gomez (ORE) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 3, 4*, 5
Doubles
1. #23 Anderson/Brady (UCLA) def. Rose Tobita (ORE) 8-4
2. Kluiving/Long (ORE) def. #1 Harrison/McPhillips (UCLA) 8-5
3. Van Nguyen/Wiley (UCLA) def. Akesson/Hager (ORE) 8-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
Players Mentioned
