Ducks Head To LA For First Pac-12 Road Trip

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 20 Oregon women's tennis team continues Pac-12 play in California this weekend taking on USC followed by No. 15 UCLA, on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Last year marked the first time in program history the Ducks were able to record victories over both LA schools.

MATCH 15: No. 20 OREGON (10-4, 1-1) vs. USC (7-4, 0-2)
Friday, March 16 | 1:30 p.m.
Los Angeles, Calif. | Marks Tennis Stadium
Live Stats: N/A
Live Video: usctrojans.com

MATCH 16: No. 20 OREGON (10-4, 1-1) vs. No. 15 UCLA (9-3, 1-1)
Sunday, March 18 | 12 p.m.
Los Angeles, Calif. | Los Angeles Tennis Center
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
Live Video: N/A

WEEKLY NOTES
DUCKS SPLIT PAC-12 OPENING WEEKEND
The Ducks opened conference play in wild fashion this past weekend, dominating a tough Washington squad before going down to the wire against Washington State.

A notoriously tough matchup in recent seasons, the Ducks and Huskies opened conference play against one another for the third straight season last Friday. The Ducks cruised through doubles play to take a 1-0 lead into singles. UO jumped out to a 3-0 lead after wins from Julia Eshet and Daniela Nasser. With the top three spots all heading into a third set, Paiton Wagner clinched the match victory for Oregon, rallying from duplicate 3-0 holes in both sets to win her match at the No. 6 spot, 7-5, 6-3.

UO's second match of the weekend looked to be the same story as the Ducks raced out of the gates in doubles play, securing the point with back-to-back 6-1 wins. In singles play, UO and the Cougars went back and forth trading points as neither team could gain seperation. With the match tied 3-3 overall it came down once again to Shweta Sangwan in a third set. Down 5-1, Sangwan looked to use some of the same magic from her comeback win against No. 23 Northwestern, rallying to tie the match 5-5. The magic would not last though as Washington State's Guzal Yusupova took the final two games to win the match 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Ducks continued their climb back to the top in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association's rankings, moving up one spot to No. 20.

With only the team rankings updated this week, senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan remain one of the ITA's top 20 doubles teams at No. 18. As a pair, Tobita and Sangwan are 13-6 on the year with a 4-5 record in dual play. Oregon's No. 3 winningest doubles pair, they need just one win to move into a tie for second place, and 15 to tie for first.

Sangwan is also one of the few players in the country to be ranked in two doubles pairs. She, along with partner Julia Eshet, made their first appearance in the ITA top 100 in nearly a month. The duo is currently ranked 61st, just five spots below their previous ranking on Feb. 7. The two Ducks are currently 3-0 this spring season.

TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST
Senior Alyssa Tobita has had an arduous stretch of singles matches as of late. The senior has squared off against ranked opponents in seven of her last nine matches, going 3-4 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. Three of her four losses in the past nine-match stretch have come in three sets, including a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. loss to then No. 2 ranked Anastasia Rychagova of Kansas. The Mililani, Hawaii native, picked up her third ranked win of the year this past weekend downing No. 49 Michaela Bayerlova of Washington State, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. So far this year, Tobita is 3-7 against ranked opponents. With both USC and UCLA having players ranked in the ITA top 40, there is a good chance Tobita's ranked opponent stretch will continue this weekend.

DOUBLE DIPPING?
Recently, Oregon has changed things up in doubles play with some very successful results.

Having paired together a handful of times last seaons, junior Shweta Sangwan and sophomore Julia Eshet along with the pair of senior Alyssa Tobita and sophomore Rifanty Kahfiani have been lights out as of late for the Ducks. Playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, both pairs are currently undefeated with Tobita and Kahfiani sporting a 5-0 record, while Sangwan and Eshet are 3-0.

Meanwhile at the No. 3 spot, three different pairs have taken the court, all with positive results. 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. Senior Nia Rose has been a consistent presence recently partnering Julia Lilien for a 6-2 win against Idaho, before recording back-to-back victories with Wagner against Fresno State and Washington.

SANGWAN'S SPRING SUCCESS
Despite dropping her last two matches in close third sets, junior Shweta Sangwan has come alive in singles play during the spring season for UO. After a 4-5 singles record in the fall, Sangwan now leads the team with a 10-4 record during the spring season. She is the first Duck to reach 10 wins in dual play, while being the only player to record a result in every match so far this spring.

Coming through when the team needs it, Sangwan has clinched three match victories for the Ducks, nearly earning a fourth in UO's last outing against Washington State. The most notable of those match clinching victories came in a hard fought three set win to secure the upset of then ranked No. 23 Northwestern. She needs just 10 more singles wins to tie Kara Yoshida for 10th on the UO all-time singles wins list.

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 become one of Oregon's team leaders with a 9-4 record. 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 look to her spring campaign, freshman Paiton Wagner has delivered some clutch wins for UO this season. The Cashmere, Wash., native, is currently 6-5 in singles play so far this spring. Wagner has helped Oregon clinch three 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. This past weekend, Wagner rallied after trailing 3-0 in both sets to defeat Katerina Kopcalic and seal UO's win over No. 33 Washington.

MAKING HISTORY
This season's squad cemented its 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. Six of Oregon's opponents this season are currently ranked in the top 25, with 11 of their 22 total season opponents currently ranked in the top 50. Three of UO's four losses this season have come against teams currently ranked in the top 20.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following their road trip, the Ducks will return to Eugene to host Arizona Friday, March 23, followed by Arizona State Sunday.