No. 17 Ducks Ride Momentum Into Five-Match Home Stand

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 17 Oregon women's tennis team will finally get a break from its travels as UO opens a five-match homestand this weekend against Baylor and Idaho. Heading into this weekend, the Ducks have only played two matches on their home court, a 5-2 win over Portland in their season opener and a 4-3 upset of then No. 23 Northwestern.

MATCH 10: #17 OREGON (6-3) vs. BAYLOR (3-5)
Friday, Feb. 23 | 2 p.m.
Eugene, Ore. | Student Tennis Center
Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Live Video: GoDucks.com

MATCH 11: #17 OREGON (6-3) vs. IDAHO (2-2)
Sunday, Feb. 25 | 12 p.m.
Eugene, Ore. | Student Tennis Center
Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Live Video: GoDucks.com

MAKING HISTORY
This season's squad cemented their place in Oregon history by earning UO's first top 20 ranking in program history, according to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Oregon jumped up seven spots to No. 17 in this week's rankings. The Ducks' previous highest ranking was No. 22 during the 2003 season. Five of Oregon's nine opponents so far this season are currently ranked in the top 40, with four ranked in the top 25. All three of UO's losses this season have come against teams currently ranked in the top 15.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
UO returns to Eugene following a two-match road trip to Kansas this past weekend. After falling to the Jayhawks, 4-1, the Ducks closed out their trip with a 7-0 victory over William and Mary. The win marked Oregon's first sweep of the 2018 spring season, as well as UO's first 7-0 victory since defeating Eastern Washington in late January last year.

FRESHMEN PICKING UP STEAM
Oregon's two freshmen have made a major impact in the Oregon lineup so far this season. After dropping her first career singles match at UO, Julia Lilien has gone on to win six of her last seven singles matches. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native was the only Duck to pick up two wins this past weekend, defeating Kansas' Maria Toran Ribes in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, before downing Lauren Goodman of William & Mary to improve to 6-2 on the year.

Despite the back-and-forth start to her spring campaign, freshman Paiton Wagner has delivered some clutch wins for UO this season. The Cashmere, Wash., native, is currently 4-3 in singles play so far this spring. Wagner has helped Oregon clinch two matches in singles play, including UO's season opener against Portland. Her come from behind two set victory against NU's Caroline Pozo, 7-6(4), 7-5, kept the Ducks upset bid of then-ranked No. 23 Northwestern alive, tying the match 3-3.

RANKED OPPONENTS
Senior Alyssa Tobita has had an arduous stretch of singles matches as of late. The senior has squared off against four straight ranked opponents, going 2-2 in that span. Tobita recorded wins over then-ranked No. 82 Lee Or of Northwestern as well as No. 68 Rosie Chen in UO's last outing against William & Mary. The Mililani, Hawaii native, pushed then-ranked No. 2 Anastasia Rychagova to the limit eventually falling in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. So far this year, Tobita is 2-5 against ranked opponents. Her stretch of ranked opponents may continue this weekend as No. 38 Marianna Petrei of Idaho heads into town.

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 7-2 through the early portion of the spring season. Her only two losses in dual play came against then-ranked No. 31 Mayar Sherif of Pepperdine and Despoina Vogasari of Kansas. 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. Sangwan's best spring season finish is 11-7, during her freshman season.

IN THE RANKINGS
Senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan remained one of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top 20 doubles teams, according to the latest rankings, despite falling eight spots to No. 18. As a pair, Tobita and Sangwan are 13-6 on the year and 4-5 in dual play. Oregon's No. 3 winningest doubles pair, their win over William & Mary's Rosie Cheng and Olivia Thaller snapped a three-match losing skid. Before snapping their losing streak, Tobita and Sangwan had a tough stretch in which they faced both the No. 1 and No. 5 ranked doubles teams in the country.

Tobita also made her return to the ITA singles rankings, coming in at No. 125. She is currently 6-2 in singles play this fall season with both losses coming against ranked opponents.

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 6-2 record in singles play so far this spring season, giving her a career record of 69-43. The Mililani, Hawaii, native needs three 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 36-15 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.

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 4-5 currently in the spring with a 36-15 career record when paired together, placing them third all-time. Their .706 winning percentage is the third highest percentage in UO history.

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.

UP NEXT
Following this weekend's matches, the Ducks will host Fresno State Saturday, Mar. 3, in their final non-conference match of the year at 1 p.m. PT.