Ducks Head To Kansas For Final Non-Conference Road Trip

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon women's tennis team continues its season on the road this weekend, traveling to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks Friday, Feb. 16, before taking on William and Mary Saturday. The two matches will mark the end of the Ducks early season road trips, having played seven of their first nine matches this year on the road. UO is 3-2 when playing outside of Eugene, with its only two losses coming against top 10 teams Pepperdine and Georgia Tech.

MATCH 8: #24 OREGON (5-2) at KANSAS (2-2)
Friday, Feb. 16 | 1 p.m. PT
Lawrence, Kan. | Jayhawk Tennis Center
Live Stats: kuathletics.com
Live Video: kuathletics.com

MATCH 7: #24 OREGON (5-2) vs. WILLIAM AND MARY (5-3)
Saturday, Feb. 17 | 10 a.m. PT
Lawrence, Kan. | Jayhawk Tennis Center
Live Stats: kuathletics.com
Live Video: N/A

RISING TO THE TOP
The Ducks earned their first top 25 ranking in 15 years, according to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association's rankings. UO enters the rankings tied with Illinois for No. 24 in the country after being unranked through the first four weeks of the season. This is the highest ranking the Ducks have received since being ranked 22nd during the 2003 season.

DUCKS RALLY TO UPSET NORTHWESTERN
The Ducks are riding high after coming from behind to upset No. 23 Northwestern, 4-3, in an instant classic. After dropping the doubles point to the Wildcats, the Ducks found themselves in a hole early. Freshman Julia Lilien won her singles match quickly to put UO on the board, but while three matches were locked in first set tiebreakers Northwestern picked up two more victories to take a 3-1 lead.

With the Ducks leading on the remaining three courts, thanks to Shweta Sangwan, Alyssa Tobita and Paiton Wagner all fighting to win their opening set tiebreakers, the match was still far from decided. After dropping her second set, Tobita blew through No. 83 Lee Or in the final set to win, 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-0, and pull the Ducks within one, 3-2. Down 5-4 in the second set, it looked as if Wagner would head into a third set as well, but the Cashmere, Wash., native flipped a switch and proceeded to win the next three straight games to win the match, 7-6(4), 7-5.

All knotted up 3-3, the match came down to Sangwan and Northwestern's Erin Larner who battled their way to a third set at the No. 2 position. As the match approached the three hour mark, Larner was in full control in the final set leading 5-2. Sangwan refused to go down without a fight, fending off five separate match points to tie the third set 5-5. With the momentum swung in Sangwan's direction the junior was able to pull off the win, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5, to clinch the match victory for Oregon.

NO SHWETA OFF HER BROW
Junior Shweta Sangwan has come alive in singles play during the spring season for UO. After a less than ideal 4-5 singles record in the fall, Sangwan now leads the team going 6-1 through the early portion of the spring season. Her only loss in dual play was against then-ranked No. 31 Mayar Sherif of Pepperdine. The loss to Sharif kicked off three straight ranked matchups for Sangwan, who recorded back-to-back wins against ranked opponents from Georgia State and Georgia Tech. She kept her momentum rolling clinching the match victory for UO against Northwestern in a hard fought three set match.

IN THE RANKINGS
UO has a new top ten doubles pair according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan jumped up seven spots to rank 10th in the country. As a pair, Tobita and Sangwan are 12-5 on the year and 3-4 in dual play. Oregon's No. 3 winningest doubles pair, the two are coming off a very competitive loss to the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the country, Erin Larner and Maddie Lipp of Northwestern.

Sangwan remains one of eight players in the country to be ranked in two different doubles pairs. Apart from her ranked pairing with Tobita, Sangwan is ranked 56th in the country when paired with sophomore Julia Eshet as well. Despite having only a career record of 3-3 together, four of Sangwan and Eshet's six matches have come against ranked pairs. The duo's only ranked win was against the No. 41 pairing of Maegan Manasse and Maya Jansen of California. Eshet and Sangwan opened the fall season at the ITA All-American Championships, advancing to the round of 32 before falling to the 42nd-ranked pair from Florida Atlantic.

CLIMBING THE LADDER
Following her three set win against Northwestern's No. 83 Lee Or, Senior Alyssa Tobita passed Marlou Kluiving for fifth all-time on UO's career singles wins list. The win also marked Tobita's first win over a ranked opponent this season. Tobita is one of the team leaders with a 5-1 record in singles play so far this spring season, giving her a career record of 68-42. The Mililani, Hawaii, native needs four more wins to tie Krissy Barger for fourth. Tobita also currently holds the No. 2 and No. 3 spots on the UO all-time doubles wins list. When partnered with Shweta Sangwan, Tobita has a 35-13 career record, good enough for third, while placing second when playing with fellow senior Nia Rose. The two seniors have a career mark of 37-16.

THE NEW "IT" COUPLE?
Pairing for the first time in their careers, sophomores Rifanty Kahfiani and Julia Eshet look to be a dominant pairing for years to come. Since Eshet's return to the lineup against San Diego, the duo has gone 2-1 in doubles play this spring, with their only loss coming against No. 7 Georgia Tech. Despite being left unfinished, the pair gave No. 12 Alex Chatt and Lee Or of Northwestern all they could handle in their last match, knotted up at 4-4 when the match was abandoned. Together, they are 4-2 on the year. The duo advanced all the way to the ITA Northwest Regional round of 16 this past fall, where they fell to then-ranked No. 11 Karla Popovic and Olivia Hauger of California.

PROVING THEIR WORTH
Oregon's two freshmen have taken on major roles early this season. The two five-star recruits have already become mainstays in the Ducks' lineup. After dropping her first career singles match at UO, Julia Lilien recorded three straight wins including a three-set decision to clinch the match victory over Rice. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native, picked up a quick, 6-1, 6-3, in her latest match to improve to 4-2 on the year.

Freshman Paiton Wagner is 3-2 in singles play so far this spring, following her come from behind two set victory against NU's Caroline Pozo. Originally from Cashmere, Wash., Wagner joined the team this past fall going 4-4 in tournament play to give her a 7-6 overall record this year. A fighter until the end, three of Wagner's six losses have gone to third sets.

JUST THE TWO OF US
The doubles pair of Alyssa Tobita and Shweta Sangwan will be one to follow this season. In their final year together, the two have already made history by winning the ITA Northwest Doubles Championship and qualifying for the ITA Fall Nationals. Due to their terrific play dating back to last year's 17-6 finish, the Duck duo is primed to make a run for the top spot on UO's all-time doubles wins list. Tobita and Sangwan are 3-4 currently in the spring with a 35-14 career record when paired together, placing them third all-time. Their .714 winning percentage is tied with Tobita and senior Nia Rose for the third highest percentage in UO history.

UP NEXT
Following the Ducks trip to Kansas, UO returns to Eugene to open a five-match home stand against Baylor Friday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. PT.