Ducks Look To Ride Momentum Into Pac-12 Tournament

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon men's tennis team looks to ride its momentum from the end of the regular season into the Pac-12 Tournament, taking on No. 32 California for the third time this season in the opening round of tournament play. Both the Ducks and Golden Bears have one win each in the season series, with UO recording the most recent victory in the regular season finale.

MATCH 25: No. 35 OREGON (16-8, 4-4) vs. No. 32 CALIFORNIA (11-8, 3-4)
Thursday, April 26 | 9 a.m. PT
Ojai, Calif. | Libbey Park
Tournament Central: pac-12.com/tennis/championships

LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks managed rally from behind after an inauspicious start to defeat Cal 4-2 in their last outing. Oregon exorcised some of it demons by recording the program's first win against the Golden Bears.

Cal jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after securing the doubles point and picking up a singles win at the No. 3 position.

From there, it was all Oregon. The Ducks proceeded to win all five remaining first sets, with senior Simon Stevens getting UO on the board with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot. Sophomore Ty Gentry followed suit shortly afterwards, winning his second set tiebreaker to tie the match, 2-2.

After Cormac Clissold recorded the win at the No. 5 position, Thomas Laurent closed it out fending off No. 58 Billy Griffith, 7-6(2), 7-5, to clinch the victory.

The win also marked the first time this season Oregon has won a match after dropping the doubles point. Before the match in Berkeley, UO was 0-5 on the year.

IN THE RANKINGS
The Ducks rose one spot in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, heading into the postseason ranked No. 35.

After falling to Stanford's No. 50 duo of Sameer Kumar and Michael Genender, Cormac Clissold and Thomas Laurent dropped to No. 45 in the doubles rankings. UO's new career doubles team wins record holders, the duo is 23-7 overall and 15-5 in dual play.

In the singles rankings, Laurent climbed to No. 22. He is currently 16-4 this spring season, having won seven of his last eight singles matches.

THE ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Ducks closed out the regular season on a tear, going 4-2 in the final stretch. In that span, UO defeated three ranked opponents to improve to 4-4 in conference play and earn the No. 4 overall seed.

The Ducks have an arduous journey to the Pac-12 Championship finals. In order to make it to Saturday's title match, UO has to pull off the improbable twice. First Oregon needs to get past Cal for only the second time in program history. If UO can defeat the Golden Bears, they will most likely face No. 1 overall seed UCLA in the semifinals. The Bruins are currently ranked second in the NCAA sporting a 23-2 overall record. The Ducks have never beaten UCLA, with the Bruins holding a 25-0 record against Oregon.

THAT CERTAIN JE NE SAIS QUOI
French international Thomas Laurent has enjoyed massive success the past two seasons at UO. After a sophomore campaign in which he broke the single-season wins record with a 30-7 overall record, he continued to build on his Oregon legacy this past fall, reaching the semifinals of the ITA All-Americans and ITA Fall Nationals, both program firsts. Laurent finished the fall slate 8-2 overall in singles play with five wins over ranked opponents. Laurent entered the 2018 spring season as one of the highest ranked players in program history at sixth in the nation.

This season, he is one of two players, including sophomore Ty Gentry, to record 24 wins in both singles and doubles play. He has defeated four ranked opponents over the last six matches. So far this season he has a tremendous 10-5 record against ranked foes. Only a junior, Laurent is already sixth on the UO all-time singles wins list with a 73-19 career record. His astonishing .793 winning percentage is currently the best career winning percentage in program history. The only other Duck with a .700 or better win percentage is Jayson Amos, whose career singles record of 93-34 (.732) ranks first on the UO all-time list.

TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST
The Ducks closed out the regular season against some stiff competition taking on five ranked opponents over the final six matches. The Ducks have faced nine ranked foes this year, posting a 3-6 record. UO's three wins came at No. 49 Washington, No. 35 Utah and, most recently, No. 31 California. The Ducks will have to record at least two more ranked victories this week to earn a spot in the Pac-12 Championship match Saturday.

WHAT'S A SOPHOMORE SLUMP?
Sophomore Ty Gentry has enjoyed some massive success during his second year at Oregon. After finishing his freshman season 11-10 overall, Gentry has flipped a switch going 24-4 in singles play this year. One of two Ducks with 20 or more wins, he opened the spring season with a 10-match winning streak dating back to the fall. With his 24 wins this season, the Olympia, Wash., native is currently tied for fourth on the UO single-season wins list.

NERVE-WRACKING
The Ducks have found themselves in multiple down-to-the-wire thrillers this season. The recent 4-3 win against Utah marked the fourth time this season a match has come down to the final point. The Ducks are 2-2 in those matches, with each match decision coming down to a third set with the match tied 3-3. Thomas Laurent clinched the most recent victory with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 win at Utah. Freshman Riki Oshima secured the other victory for UO recording a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 win at Washington.

GRAB YOUR BROOMS
Following their 4-0 victory over Arizona, the Ducks have now recorded nine victories without conceding a single point. UO's single-match dominance has slowly risen since the 2010 season. In 2010, Oregon recorded three match sweeps with that number continually rising each season since, culminating in 10 perfect wins last year. With three guaranteed matches left this season, UO still has an opportunity to tie last year's shutout record.

UO-SHIMA
Freshman Riki Oshima has been on a tear for the Ducks as of late. After a 5-5 start to the season, Oshima has won six of his last seven singles matches with his loss at Stanford snapping a six-match winning streak. He finished his first regular season as a Duck with an 11-6 record this spring. In that span, he has clinched two match victories for Oregon. First, he secured UO's first conference win and first ranked win of the year at No. 49 Washington. With the match tied 3-3, it came down to the Toyama, Japan native, who fought off match point in a second set tiebreaker to force a decisive third set. Oshima and UW's Alexis Alvarez traded games in the final set until they were knotted at 4-4. Oshima managed to close it out by winning the final two games to take the match, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

In the Ducks' match against Arizona, it was Oshima once again who clinched the victory for UO. After flying out to a 3-0 lead against the Wildcats, Oshima recorded a 6-4, 7-5 win at the No. 6 spot to secure the match sweep, 4-0. At Utah, he was essential once again recording a 6-3, 7-6 win to give the Ducks a 3-2 edge and set the match up for a dramatic finish.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Ducks have a tough stretch ahead of them, most likely facing No. 1 seed UCLA in the semifinals if they can get past California. No matter what happens in the next few days, UO will wait to see if the NCAA Tournament is in their future with the announcing of the tournament bracket next Tuesday, May 1.