University of Oregon
Washington
Ducks Battle Back to Defeat Huskies, 4-3
04/18/15 | Women's Tennis
SEATTLE, Wash. – Senior Nicole Long fought off Miki Kobayashi at No. 3 singles in an epic back-and-forth third set to clinch the 4-3 victory for Oregon over No. 47 Washington on Friday at the Bill Quillian Tennis Stadium on the Pac-12 Networks.
The win gave Oregon its 10th win of the season, the first in the Alison Silverio era, and its third in four years. The Ducks also picked up their fourth win in Pac-12 play on Friday, the most in a single season in over a decade. UO looks to finish the regular season over .500 when it takes on Idaho at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 19, for senior day.
How It Happened: Washington took a quick lead after the start of doubles with an 8-1 victory at the No. 3 position over Lina Åkesson and Paloma Gomez.
Down a match in doubles, UO's 60th-ranked doubles pair of Nia Rose and Alyssa Tobita triumphed over their opponents 8-4 and tied it up at 1-1. Soon after Oregon's victory at No. 1 singles, Marlou Kluiving and Long – who are ranked No. 65 in doubles – captured the doubles points for the Ducks with an 8-4 victory at No. 2 doubles over Julija Lukac and Grace Ysidora.
UW mounted a rally once singles play started, winning the first set on all six courts. However, Oregon answered back with wins in the second set from its top three players to set the Ducks up down the line.
One-by-one, the Huskies would rattle off victories at singles No. 5, No. 6 and No. 4 to take a 3-1 lead over the Ducks.
Having been in these situations earlier in the year, the top-three singles players for Oregon never folded under the UW pressure and stormed back to force a third set while the Huskies' top-three singles players quickly unraveled.
Tobita was the first to battle back for UO, outscoring UW's Ysidora 6-2, 6-0 after dropping the first set to give the Ducks their second point.
A few minutes later, Rose would put the hammer down against Douglas-Miron with a convincing 6-2, 6-3 win in the second and third set to tie the match up at 3-3 and set the stage for Long.
After falling 6-2 in the first set, Long reeled off a 6-4 win in the second set to force a deciding third set. With the senior on top 5-1 in the third set, it took the 10th break-point opportunity before Long could close out the match against Kobayashi and seal the upset win for UO.
What It Means: With many things still needed to happen in order for Oregon to even put its name in the hat for a possible postseason bid, the Ducks did however put themselves in a position to do just that with the win on Friday over Washington. Idaho will be Oregon's final test in dual play before the Ducks are at the mercy of the NCAA selection committee.
Quotable:
UO head coach Alison Silverio
“Today was about determination, persistence, and fight. I was proud to see our team stay united after facing adversity in our first sets of singles”
Senior – Nicole Long
“It took so long and the adrenaline was going full speed. I felt things were going my way as soon as I won the second and I wanted to continue it. I'm just so proud of my team. I may have been the last one, but that was a complete team effort. I'm just so, so proud of our team.”
Up Next: The Ducks now return home for their final home game of the regular season for senior day at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 19. Oregon will honor its two seniors, Nicole Long and Sofia Hager, prior to the start of the match against Idaho on Sunday.
#57 Oregon 4, #47 Washington 3
April 17, 2015
Seattle, Wash.
Bill Quillian Tennis Stadium
Singles
1. #71 Nia Rose (ORE) def. Elianne Douglas-Miron (UW) 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
2. Alyssa Tobita (ORE) def. Grace Ysidora (UW) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
3. Nicole Long (ORE) def. Miki Kobayashi (UW) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Julija Lukac (UW) def. Marlou Kluiving (ORE) 6-2, 6-4
5. Capucine Gregoire (UW) def. Lina Åkesson (ORE) 6-1, 6-3
6. Riko Shimizu (UW) def. Sofia Hager (ORE) 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 4, 2, 1, 3
Doubles
1. #60 Rose/Tobita (ORE) def. Douglas-Miron/Kobayashi (UW) 8-4
2. #65 Kluiving/Long (ORE) def. Lukac/Ysidora (UW) 8-4
3. Gregoire/Shimizu (UW) def. Åkesson/Gomez 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Players Mentioned
