No. 21 Ducks Look To Set Tone In Conference Opener

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 21 Oregon women's tennis team dives into Pac-12 play with matches against Washington, Friday, and Washington State, Sunday. This is the third season in a row the Ducks have opened conference play against the Huskies and Cougars. UO has won both matches during its conference-opening weekend for three years straight.

MATCH 13: No. 22 OREGON (9-3) vs. WASHINGTON (8-5)
Friday, Mar. 9 | 1:30 p.m.
Eugene, Ore. | Student Tennis Center
Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Live Video: GoDucks.com

MATCH 14: No. 22 OREGON (9-3) vs. WASHINGTON STATE (14-1)
Sunday, Mar. 11 | 11 a.m.
Eugene, Ore. | Student Tennis Center
Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Live Video: GoDucks.com

DUCKS SOAR OVER COMPETITION
Following its 5-2 win over Fresno State, Oregon heads into conference play coming off one of its most productive non-conference seasons in recent history. The Ducks closed out the first half of the year 9-3 overall, with their only losses coming against teams currently ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top 20. UO's nine wins marks the most non-conference wins since the 2013 season in which the Ducks went 12-1.

SANGWAN'S SPRING SUCCESS
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 10-2 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.

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. So far this spring, Sangwan is 3-1 against ranked opponents.

Coming through when the team needs it, Sangwan has clinched three match victories for the Ducks, none more important than 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.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Ducks began their climb back to the top in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association's rankings. After dropping five spots last week, UO rose to No. 21 this week.

Senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan remained 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 team-high 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 was 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.

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 five of her last seven 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 of Idaho.The Mililani, Hawaii, native, also pushed then No. 2 ranked 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. Tobita will likely continue that streak this weekend as UW has two players ranked in the top 60, including No. 14 Stacey Fung who defeated Tobita this past fall, while WSU's Michaela Bayerlova is currently ranked No. 49.

DOUBLE DIPPING?
Recently, Oregon has changed things up in doubles play with successful results. Having lost the doubles point in five of 12 matches, 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 handful of times already, Shweta Sangwan and Julia Eshet along with the pair of Alyssa Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani have been playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Both pairs are currently undefeated with Tobita and Kahfiani sporting a 3-0 record, while Sangwan and Eshet are 2-0.

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. In UO's last two matches, senior Nia Rose has partnered with both Wagner and Julia Lilien, recording back-to-back 6-2 wins over their Idaho and Fresno State opponents.

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 leaders with an 8-3 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 start to her spring campaign, freshman Paiton Wagner has delivered some clutch wins for UO this season. The Cashmere, Wash., native, is currently 5-5 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.

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 an 8-3 record in singles play so far this spring season, giving her a career record of 71-44. The Mililani, Hawaii, native needs just one more win to tie Krissy Barger for fourth. Tobita also 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.

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. Five of Oregon's 11 opponents so far this season are 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.

UP NEXT
After this weekend, the Ducks continue conference play traveling to Los Angeles to take on USC and UCLA Friday, Mar. 16, and Sunday, Mar. 18, respectively.