Going Back To Cali

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 26 Oregon women's tennis team heads to California this weekend for its final road trip of the regular season. The Ducks will open their road swing against Cal Friday at 1:30 p.m., before taking on No. 23 Stanford in UO's fifth top-25 matchup this season on Sunday at 11 a.m.

MATCH 19: No. 26 OREGON (12-6, 3-3) vs. No. 49 CALIFORNIA (8-6, 4-2)
Friday, April 6 | 1:30 p.m.
Berkeley, Calif. | Hellman Tennis Complex

Live Stats: calbears.com

Live Video: calbears.com

MATCH 20: No. 26 OREGON (12-6, 3-3) vs. No. 23 STANFORD (11-3, 5-0)
Sunday, April 8 | 11 a.m.
Stanford, Calif. | Student Tennis Center
Live Stats: gostanford.com
Live Video: gostanford.com

DUCKS SWEEP AWAY THE COMPETITION
Oregon looked nearly untouchable against Arizona and Arizona State in its last two matches almost two weeks ago. UO defeated the two Arizona schools with back-to-back 4-0 sweeps, marking the second and third shutout victories of the season. The Ducks nearly blanked Arizona in doubles play to open the weekend, recording 6-1 and 6-0 victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. From there, UO made quick work of the Wildcats with Rifanty Kahfiani picking up a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 6 position. Alyssa Tobita and Daniela Nasser recorded duplicate 6-1, 6-3 wins at the No. 2 and No. 5 spots to secure the sweep.

Oregon took advantage of a shorthanded Arizona State team to close out the weekend with another victory. With ASU unable to fill a spot at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles, the Ducks quickly took a 2-0 lead over the Sun Devils. Arizona State played very close against UO in singles, but the Ducks were able to secure the win with victories from Tobita and Paiton Wagner. The win marked UO's first victory over ASU since the 2004 season.

IN THE RANKINGS
Despite winning their last two matches, the Ducks dropped out of the top 25 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association's rankings, to No. 26.

Senior Alyssa Tobita and junior Shweta Sangwan have not paired together since UO faced William & Mary in February, but the duo remains one of the ITA's top pairings. The pair is currently ranked 27th with a 13-6 record on the year and a 4-5 record in dual play. Oregon's No. 3 all-time winningest doubles pair, they need just one win to move into a tie for second place, and 15 to tie for first.

Sangwan and Tobita are both ranked with two doubles pairs. Sangwan and partner Julia Eshet jumped up 11 spots to No. 69. The two Ducks are currently 4-1 this spring season, having just lost their first match against the 43rd ranked duo of Rianna Valdes and Angela Kulikov from USC. Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani made their first appearance in the doubles rankings since September. The duo's 7-1 record this spring helped propel them to No. 64.

In the singles rankings, Tobita climbed into the ITA top-100. The Mililani, Hawaii, native rose eight spots to No. 94 in the latest rankings. So far this year, Tobita has an 11-6 record during the spring season, playing all but three matches at the No. 1 position.

IRON SHARPENS IRON
Senior Alyssa Tobita had a bit of a reprieve from her recent arduous stretch of singles matches. Tobita played at the No. 2 spot against Arizona and Arizona State recording wins in both matches. Before those matches, she squared off against ranked opponents in nine of her previous 11 matches, going 3-6 in that span. Six of those opponents were ranked in the ITA top 50, while three were ranked in the top 20.

Tobita recorded wins over then No. 83 Lee Or of Northwestern as well as William & Mary's No. 68 Rosie Chen. Three of her six losses in the past stretch have come in three sets, including a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 loss to then No. 2 ranked Anastasia Rychagova of Kansas. Tobita picked up her third ranked win of the year just recently, downing No. 49 Michaela Bayerlova of Washington State, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. So far this year, Tobita is 3-9 against ranked opponents.

DOUBLE DIPPING?
Midway through the season, head coach Alison Silverio decided to change things up in doubles play, to some very successful results.

Having paired together a handful of times last season, 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 were undefeated heading into Oregon's L.A. road trip. After picking up their first losses of the spring against USC and UCLA, Tobita and Kahfiani now sport a 7-1 record, while Sangwan and Eshet are 4-1.

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 partnering with Julia Lilien for a 6-2 win against Idaho, before recording back-to-back victories with Wagner against Fresno State and Washington. Losses at USC and UCLA dropped Rose and Wagner to 2-3 as a pair this spring.

WHERE THE DUCKS STAND
Heading into the final four matches of the season, the Ducks currently sit at sixth in the Pac-12 standings. UO squares off against the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the Pac-12 this weekend in Stanford and Cal, respectively, before closing out the year against Colorado and Utah, who are ninth and 10th. If the Ducks can climb one spot over the course of the next four matches, into the top five, they will earn a first-round bye in the tournament.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS' OPPONENTS
California welcomes the Ducks for their final home match of the season Friday. The Golden Bears are 8-6 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-12, having just snapped a three-match winning streak by falling to Arizona State, 4-0. Currently, Cal sits at fourth in the Pac-12 standings. Cal has four players currently ranked in the ITA top-100 led by No. 32 Anna Bright. Bright is 30-9 overall this year. So far this spring season, Cal has only two players with at least 10 wins in No. 44 Olivia Hauger (10-2) and Maria Smith (11-3). Hauger is also undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record.

Oregon's second opponent on the weekend, Stanford, is not only ranked in the ITA top-25 at No. 23, but currently leads the Pac-12 with a 5-0 record in conference play. The Cardinal is on a seven-match win streak heading into Sunday's match. Stanford has four players ranked in the ITA top-100 including No. 16 Michaela Gordon. Gordon leads the team with a 10-4 record this spring, all at the No. 1 position.

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 opponents this season are currently ranked in the top 25, with 13 of their 22 total season opponents currently ranked in the top 50. Four of UO's six losses this season have come against teams currently ranked in the top 20.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend's road trip, the Ducks will close out the year at home hosting Colorado on Friday, April 13, followed by Utah on Sunday the 15th.