Ducks Host No. 1 USC for Pac-12 Opener

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon men's tennis team is back on its home courts to begin Pac-12 play Friday afternoon against top-ranked USC. First serve is 2:30 p.m. (PT) at the UO Student Tennis Center. The Ducks enter conference play with a 9-3 record this season including a 6-1 mark in home matches.

Oregon will cap its weekend with a second top-25 opponent, hosting No. 22 UCLA on Sunday at 12 p.m. Admission for all home matches is free.

Friday, Feb. 28: vs No. 1 USC
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Sunday, March 1: vs No. 22 UCLA
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Last Time Out
The Ducks posted a split weekend in San Diego. Oregon started the trip with a 5-2 victory over Loyola Marymount, and fell to host USD in the team's weekend finale. The loss to the Toreros snapped a six-match winning streak. In the win over LMU, sophomore Joshua Charlton collected his team-leading 19^th win of the year, while he and senior Ty Gentry improved to 14-3 in doubles action.

About USC
USC (11-1) enter Friday's match having won its past seven matches featuring a triumph at the recently completed ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. Daniel Cukierman, the nation's No. 1-ranked player, is one of six USC players ranked among the top 85 in the latest ITA poll. He and Riley Smith also check in at No. 19 in the ITA doubles release.

About UCLA
UCLA (6-4) travels to Seattle to face the Huskies before Sunday's match in Eugene. The Bruins are led by Keegan Smith, the No. 8-ranked singles player in the country. He and Govind Nanda are ranked 24^th in the ITA doubles poll. The Bruins also competed at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, picking up a 4-0 consolation win over NC State.

Career Movement
With a win against Loyola Marymount, senior Ty Gentry moved into sole possession of seventh place on the UO career doubles list. The Olympia, Wash., native is now 69-29 (.704) in doubles play during his UO career. Gentry and sophomore Joshua Charlton (14-3) are ranked No. 11 in the Feb. 18 national release.

UO Top 10 Career Wins (doubles)
1. 93 – Robin Cambier (2010-14)
2. 83 – Cormac Clissold (2014-18)
3. 79 – Simon Stevens (2014-18)
4. 76 – Thomas Laurent (2016-19)
5. 75 – Daniel Sardu (2011-15)
6. 71 – Daan Maasland (2012-16)
7. 69 – Ty Gentry (2016-pres.)
8. 68 – Jayson Amos (2013-17)
9. 65 – Oded Teig (1999-03)
10. 64 – Manuel Kost (2001-05)

Heading Toward 200
Head coach Nils Schyllander is in his 14^th season at the helm of the men's program at Oregon. In that time, he has a 196-136 (.590) record with four NCAA Tournament appearances. Schyllander spent his first four seasons in Eugene as the women's head coach (2002-06), and is 254-177 overall at Oregon.

Top-Notch Schedule
Oregon is set for seven home matches against teams that played in last year's NCAA Tournament…

Jan. 18 vs UCSB – W, 4-0
Jan. 19 vs #17 Michigan – L, 5-2
Feb. 2 vs Drake – W, 4-0
Feb. 28 vs #1 USC
March 1 vs #22 UCLA
April 10 vs Arizona
April 12 vs Arizona State

Up Next
Including this weekend's matches, the Ducks play their next five in Eugene. Following its matches with the LA schools, Oregon dips back into non-conference play with dates against New Mexico (March 6), Old Dominion (March 8) and UNLV (March 22).

For more information about Oregon men's tennis, follow @OregonMTennis on Instagram and Twitter.