Saturday, January 27
Malibu, CA
1:00 PM
University of Oregon
4
vs
2
Rice
Ducks Rally To Win Wild Match In ITA Kick-Off Opener
01/27/18 | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. – After dropping the doubles point, the Oregon women's tennis team rallied in singles play to win its opening match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend over Rice, 4-2.
How it Happened: The Ducks opened the two-day tournament in a battle for the doubles point against the Owls.
The two squads were evenly matched, with the duo of Rifanty Kahfiani and Julia Eshet defeating Michaela Haet and Fernanda Astete at the No. 2 spot, 6-3, while Daniela Nasser and Paiton Wagner fell at the No. 3 spot, 6-4.
The doubles point came down to the ranked matchup between No. 17 Alyssa Tobita and Shweta Sangwan and No. 12 Wendy Zhang and Lindsey Hodge at the No. 1 spot. The two pairs traded games in the early part of the match as they were deadlocked at 3-3, but the Rice duo pulled away winning the final three games to win the match and clinch the doubles point, 6-3.
With the Ducks looking to rally in singles play, Sangwan raced out to tie the match 1-1 following her 6-2, 6-1 victory over Michaela Haet at the No. 3 spot.
Wagner put the Ducks in front playing from the No. 6 position, downing Rice's Savannah Durkin, 6-2, 6-3. After Tobita picked up the win at the No. 1 spot, 6-2, 6-4, to extend UO's lead to 3-1, the match came down to a trio of tiebreaker third sets.
After rallying to force a third set, Eshet could not complete the comeback falling to Rice's Lindsey Hodge, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2, at the No. 2 spot.
It came down to the freshman Julia Lilien at the No. 5 spot. Playing in her first career three-set match at UO, Lilien fought back to force the tiebreaker set after dropping a hard fought opening set, 7-6(8). The Scottsdale, Ariz., native rallied to win the match and clinch the 4-2 win for the Ducks, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2.
What it Means: With their win today, the Ducks will head to Sunday's championship match against No. 6 Pepperdine with a spot at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the line.
Notable: Even though it was left unfinished, Daniela Nasser's three-set match at the No. 4 spot marked her third straight three-set match this season.
Quotable:
Head Coach Alison Silverio
On today's match against Rice...
"It was a hard fought match today from both sides. There were many elements to battle and we stayed tough through the adversity. Our togetherness, fight and energy made an extreme impact. We will continue to make moves in the right direction."
Up Next: The Ducks will take on hosts and No. 6 ranked Pepperdine Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.
How it Happened: The Ducks opened the two-day tournament in a battle for the doubles point against the Owls.
The two squads were evenly matched, with the duo of Rifanty Kahfiani and Julia Eshet defeating Michaela Haet and Fernanda Astete at the No. 2 spot, 6-3, while Daniela Nasser and Paiton Wagner fell at the No. 3 spot, 6-4.
The doubles point came down to the ranked matchup between No. 17 Alyssa Tobita and Shweta Sangwan and No. 12 Wendy Zhang and Lindsey Hodge at the No. 1 spot. The two pairs traded games in the early part of the match as they were deadlocked at 3-3, but the Rice duo pulled away winning the final three games to win the match and clinch the doubles point, 6-3.
With the Ducks looking to rally in singles play, Sangwan raced out to tie the match 1-1 following her 6-2, 6-1 victory over Michaela Haet at the No. 3 spot.
Wagner put the Ducks in front playing from the No. 6 position, downing Rice's Savannah Durkin, 6-2, 6-3. After Tobita picked up the win at the No. 1 spot, 6-2, 6-4, to extend UO's lead to 3-1, the match came down to a trio of tiebreaker third sets.
After rallying to force a third set, Eshet could not complete the comeback falling to Rice's Lindsey Hodge, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2, at the No. 2 spot.
It came down to the freshman Julia Lilien at the No. 5 spot. Playing in her first career three-set match at UO, Lilien fought back to force the tiebreaker set after dropping a hard fought opening set, 7-6(8). The Scottsdale, Ariz., native rallied to win the match and clinch the 4-2 win for the Ducks, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2.
What it Means: With their win today, the Ducks will head to Sunday's championship match against No. 6 Pepperdine with a spot at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on the line.
Notable: Even though it was left unfinished, Daniela Nasser's three-set match at the No. 4 spot marked her third straight three-set match this season.
Quotable:
Head Coach Alison Silverio
On today's match against Rice...
"It was a hard fought match today from both sides. There were many elements to battle and we stayed tough through the adversity. Our togetherness, fight and energy made an extreme impact. We will continue to make moves in the right direction."
Up Next: The Ducks will take on hosts and No. 6 ranked Pepperdine Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Karin Young: "It's all so new and exciting"
Tuesday, May 03
Courtney Nagle: "I'm super excited for this team."
Tuesday, May 03
Sophie Luescher: "It's a really nice feeling."
Tuesday, May 03
Petra Salko Life after University of Oregon
Monday, December 30
