Ducks Look To Build On Success In NCAA Tournament Opener

EUGENE, Ore. - The No. 33 Oregon women's tennis team is set for its second straight NCAA Tournament berth, taking on Tennessee in the opening round Friday at 10 a.m. PT. This marks only the second time in program history the Ducks have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years, the first time being in 1999 and 2000.

INTERVIEWS
Head Coach Alison Silverio

Senior Alyssa Tobita

Junior Shweta Sangwan

WEEKLY NOTES
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
The Ducks head into Friday's tournament opener playing some of their best tennis of the season. UO went 5-3 over its last month of the season with five shutout victories in that span. All three of Oregon's losses came in close matches against opponents ranked in the ITA top 50.

UO's improvement over the season is very noticeable when looking at its most recent match in the Pac-12 quarterfinals. The Ducks squared off against No. 13 UCLA in the conference tournament, falling in a tight 4-3 match to the Bruins. Despite the loss, the match was much more hotly contested than when the two teams faced each other earlier in the year.

In this year's previous meeting, March 18, UCLA swept Oregon, 4-0, with the Bruins leading on all three remaining singles courts. Despite the second match starting out similarly to the first, with UCLA winning the doubles point, the Ducks rallied in singles play to nearly topple the the No. 13 Bruins. Shweta Sangwan and Daniela Nasser both recorded ranked victories at the No. 2 and No. 4 spots, respectively. Freshman Julia Lilien rounded out the wins for UO, picking up a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Terri Fleming at the No. 3 position. Fellow freshman Paiton Wagner nearly kept the Ducks alive by forcing a third set at the No. 6 spot, but fell to No. 117 Alaina Miller in a tiebreaker set, 6-1, 7-6.

GOING DANCING
This year's NCAA Tournament berth marks only the eighth time in program history that UO has made the cut. The Ducks returned to the tournament after a 10 year absence in 2017. After winning the doubles point in their opening match against North Carolina State, the Wolfpack came back to win the match in singles play, 4-2. NC State won three of their four matches in third sets, while Shweta Sangwan recorded UO's only singles victory, 6-2, 6-4, at the No. 2 spot. Following last year's loss, UO is now 3-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks' last victory in tournament play came in 2004 when UO narrowly downed New Mexico, 4-3, before moving on to drop a close 4-3 decision against regional hosts Washington in the next round.

The Ducks are one of four Pac-12 teams to be selected for the tournament, along with regular season and Pac-12 tournament champions Stanford. UCLA and Arizona State were also selected for the tournament. UO faced 13 teams that made it into the tournament, sporting an 8-6 record against those opponents.

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
In order to prepare for the challenges of postseason play, head coach Alison Silverio put together a demanding slate of top opponents for the 2018 spring season. 13 of the Ducks' 22 opponents this season are currently ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top 50, with seven ranked in the top 25. UO went 2-6 in matches against top 25 foes, recording 4-3 wins over No. 13 Northwestern and No. 25 Baylor. The Ducks also recorded victories over then No. 33 Washington, 5-2, as well as No. 35 Arizona State, 4-0.

Not phased by the difficult schedule, the Ducks cemented their place in the record books by earning UO's first top-20 ranking in program history, ranking No. 17 in the Feb. 20 ITA rankings. The Ducks' previous high ranking was No. 22 during the 2003 season.

DUCKS IN THE RANKINGS
The Ducks head into the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 33 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association's team rankings. UO is the third-highest ranked Pac-12 team behind No. 14 UCLA and No. 15 Stanford.

The doubles pair of Alyssa Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani dropped out of the doubles rankings this week, but UO still managed to keep two pairs in the ITA's top 90. Despite not pairing together since UO faced William & Mary in February, senior Alyssa Tobita and Shweta Sangwan remained No. 34 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 Julia Eshet remain ranked as well, dropping to No. 74. The two Ducks are currently 5-2 this spring season, defeating then No. 53 Alexia Petrovic and Jena Chang in their most recent match, for their first ranked win of the season.

In the singles rankings, Tobita rose one spot to No. 42. A Mililani, Hawaii, native, Tobita has a 14-7 record during the spring season while going 6-10 against ranked opponents.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
One day after the Ducks learned of their NCAA Tournament seed, senior Alyssa Tobita was chosen to represent UO in the NCAA Singles Championship Tournament. Tobita is only the fourth Duck in program history, and first since 2006, to be selected for the individual tournament.

Tobita kicked things into another gear this season, leading the team with a 14-7 singles record this spring. Tobita recorded her first career wins at the No. 1 position, posting an 11-7 record from the top spot. Throughout the year, she faced 16 ranked opponents, going 6-10 while closing out the regular season by defeating three straight ranked foes.

In arguably her best match of the season, Tobita rallied to defeat No. 16 Michaela Gordon of Stanford in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. The win was the only victory for the Ducks against the Cardinal while also marking the highest ranked victory for any Duck this season. All seven of her singles losses this spring have come against ranked foes, with four of her opponents ranked among the top 15 in the country.

Thanks to her success this spring, Tobita was named a second team all-Pac-12 selection for the second straight year.

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

After pairing 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 for the Ducks. Playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, both pairs were undefeated through their first five matches.

Heading into the NCAA tournament, Tobita and Kahfiani are 12-4 together, going 11-3 from the No. 2 spot this spring. They are the only Duck duo, besides Tobita and Sangwan, with at least 10 wins this spring.

Currently ranked 74th in the country, Sangwan and Eshet are 6-3 on the year with a 5-2 record at the No. 1 position. Despite not recording a result in UO's last two matches, the Duck duo stood toe-to-toe with UCLA's No. 6 duo of Terri Fleming and Jada Hart, trailing 4-3 when the match was abandoned. Sangwan and Eshet closed out the regular season with their first ranked win of the year, downing No. 53 Alexia Petrovic and Jena Cheng of Utah, 6-1.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS' OPPONENTS
The Volunteers enter the NCAA Tournament with an 18-11 record while going 3-10 in SEC play. Tennessee made it to the second round of its conference tournament before falling to No. 6 Ole Miss, 4-2. UT is led by a trio of underclassmen in Gabby Schuck, Johanna Silva and Kaitlin Staines who all have at least 14 singles victories. Staines along with partner Ariadna Riley are currently ranked No. 40 in the ITA doubles rankings, with a 15-4 record this spring.

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.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Ducks have a tough road to make it out of their regional bracket. If they can defeat Tennessee, the Ducks will most likely face regional hosts and No. 3 overall seed Duke in the second round. From there, it's a guessing game as UO would go on to face the winner of the Evanston, Ill., regional hosted by No. 13 Northwestern.