No. 22 Ducks Set For Final Non-Conference Test Saturday

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 22 Oregon women's tennis team closes out its non-conference schedule this Saturday hosting Fresno State at 1 p.m. The Ducks will look to extend their three-match winning streak as well as remain undefeated at home against the Bulldogs.

MATCH 12: #22 OREGON (8-3) vs. FRESNO STATE (3-7)
Saturday, Mar. 3 | 1 p.m.
Eugene, Ore. | Student Tennis Center
Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Live Video: GoDucks.com

WEEKLY NOTES
KEEPING THINGS INTERESTING
The Ducks once again went down to the wire in their first of two matches this past weekend. Reminiscent of their previous home match against No. 23 Northwestern, UO found itself deadlocked, 3-3, against Baylor with the match decision coming down to a third set. This time, it fell on freshman Julia Lilien who managed to rally after dropping her first set to the Bears' Livia Kraus. With her teammates cheering her on, Lilien won the final set and the match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to give UO the 4-3 victory.

In Oregon's second match of the weekend, the Ducks put their foot on the gas cruising to a 6-1 win over Idaho. UO's only loss to the Vandals was a three set decision at the No. 1 spot against No. 38 Marianna Petrei.

RANKED OPPONENTS
Senior Alyssa Tobita has had an arduous stretch of singles matches as of late. The senior has squared off against ranked opponents in five of her last six matches, going 2-3 in that span. Tobita recorded wins over then-ranked No. 82 Lee Or of Northwestern as well as William & Mary's No. 68 Rosie Chen. Two of her three losses in the past six-match stretch have come in three sets, including a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 loss to No. 38 Marianna Petrei in UO's last match.The Mililani, Hawaii, native, also 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 2-6 against ranked opponents.

DOUBLE DIPPING?
This past weekend, Oregon shook things up in doubles play to successful results. Having lost the doubles point in five of 11 matches so far this season, head coach Alison Silverio looked to shore up the doubles portion of the Ducks' match play, mixing up a few new pairs in UO's latest matches.

Having paired together a handfull of times already, Shweta Sangwan and Julia Eshet along with the pair of Alyssa Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani played at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Both pairs closed out the weekend 2-0 against the duos from Baylor and Idaho.

At the No. 3 spot, Daniela Nasser and Paiton Wagner nearly recorded their first win as a pair against Baylor's Dominika Sujova and Giorgia Testa, but the match was abandoned with the Ducks leading 6-5. UO's newest pairing came in the match against Idaho as senior Nia Rose joined forces with freshman Julia Lilien. The Duck duo recorded a 6-2 win over the Vandal's Shion Watabe and Maggie Chen.

IN THE RANKINGS
Despite finishing the previous weekend 2-0, the Ducks dropped five spots in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings to No. 22.

Senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan remained one of the ITA's top 20 doubles teams, 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.

MAKING HISTORY
This season's squad cemented their place in Oregon history by earning UO's first top 20 ranking in program history, ranking No. 17 in the Feb. 20 ITA rankings. The Ducks' previous highest ranking was No. 22 during the 2003 season. Four of Oregon's 11 opponents so far this season are currently ranked in the top 25, with 13 of their 22 total season opponents ranked in the top 50. All three of UO's losses this season have come against teams currently ranked in the top 20.

FRESHMEN PICKING UP STEAM
Oregon's two freshmen have had 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 eight of her last nine singles matches. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native was the only Duck to pick up two wins in UO's weekend road trip to Kansas, defeating KU's 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. Lilien also clinched Oregon's 4-3 win over Baylor with a three set victory against Livia Kraus.

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 5-4 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.

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 9-2 during 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 then-No. 23 Northwestern in a hard fought three set match. She needs 11 more singles wins to tie Kara Yoshida for 10th on the UO all-time singles wins list.

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 7-3 record in singles play so far this spring season, giving her a career record of 70-44. The Mililani, Hawaii, native needs two 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 Oregon's first-ever 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.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
The Ducks closed out their weekend trip to Kansas 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.

NEW FACE, OLD HISTORY
The 2017-18 season brought with it a new face to the Ducks' coaching staff in assistant coach Elizabeth Lumpkin Robinson. This is Robinson's first stint as a collegiate coach after spending over five years competing in the WTA and ITF pro tennis circuits. Before turning pro, Robinson was a member of the UCLA women's tennis team for four years (2004-08), captaining the Bruins to their first ever NCAA Championship in 2008 while posting a 24-1 record in singles play. Originally from Naperville, Ill., Robinson and head coach Alison Silverio are far from strangers as the two have been on-the-court rivals dating back to their juniors' careers. In fact, during the 2007 season, it was Silverio who clinched Georgia Tech's NCAA Championship victory 4-2 over UCLA, ending Robinson and the Bruins' championship bid in the NCAA Finals.

UP NEXT
After Saturday's match with the Bulldogs, the Ducks will open Pac-12 play hosting Washington and Washington State next Friday, Mar. 9, and Sunday. Mar. 11, respectively.