Oregon men’s club lacrosse went 2-10 in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League Division I last year. Since then, the team has done a complete 180, achieving a record of 9-2 so far this season.

This dramatic shift is owed in large part to a transition in the coaching staff. After more than eight years with the program, Jon Bongiorno moved from assistant coach to head coach. He has made a profound impact on the culture of the team, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Towards the end of last year, when [Bongiorno] assumed more responsibilities due to our poor record, things were fixed a lot,” said senior Liam Delumpa, a team captain and the only four-year player on the team. “I think this year as head coach, and being in control, his organizational skills have really contributed to our success.”

Bongiorno credits his team’s success to not only the talent, but the commitment and hard work that each player puts in on the field. The importance of culture is something he reiterates, especially with all the new players on the team.

“[Out of] 44 [players] on our roster in the beginning of the year, 22 were new to the program,” Bongiorno said. “We added two new coaches to the coaching staff, so out of the four coaches and 44 players, literally half are new.”

The new players are made up of transfers and freshmen, many of whom have already established prominent roles on the team. Sam Snider, a freshman who transferred from Colorado to Oregon in the winter, immediately stepped into the starting position at goalie. Another transfer, Michael Marcott, came to Oregon from the University of Denver, the 2015 NCAA men’s lacrosse champions. He was named team captain only six weeks after arriving on campus.

Junior Midfielder Lucas Kuchta, one of the returning athletes from last year, is happy with the new talent that the team has gained.

“Last year sucked,” Kuchta said. “I think that I can speak for a lot of the guys that were here. We’ve lost some important players, but the good thing about that is that there are young guys and new players stepping up to the occasion.”

With three more games in the regular season, the team has high hopes for what lies ahead.

“After not making the conference tournament last year, that was a big point of emphasis,” Bongiorno said. “The immediate goal is to get better every single opportunity you have. Then at the end, it’s to win our league, win our league tournament, get that bid to the national tournament and then see where it goes from there.”

The Ducks’ confidence is at an all-time high. Sophomore Troy Romstad, one of the 22 newcomers to the team, has witnessed it this season.

“Coach preaches that he wants us to be fast, confident and fundamentally sound,” Romstad said. “So we’ve definitely got a lot of the confidence, and we’ve shown that, when we’re at our best, we can play with any team in the nation.”

This team’s only two losses come from two of the top-ranked teams in the country: No. 1 Chapman and previously-ranked No. 3 Colorado.

“They take care of each other off the field,” Bongiorno said. “And that’s where you get into that family dynamic. Any coach will tell you: If you can get a team that’s more like a family, that’s when you tap into that hidden growth potential of the team. Honestly it’s just them, not me. I just give them some structure and they’re good to go.”

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After placing a close second at the regional competition in Yakima, Washington, the Oregon club tennis team is one of 64 teams to qualify for the USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship in Cary, North Carolina.

This year’s qualifying team is made up of only one senior, president Emily Plutsky. She is excited about the opportunity to go to her fourth National Championships and happy to be able to share the experience with some of her newer teammates.

“What’s really cool this year is that the team that is going to North Carolina for nationals. Only three of us out of the seven have actually been before,” Plutsky said. “So I’m really looking forward to showing these guys what a cool experience it is and what it’s like.”

The first day of the tournament is pool play. Oregon will have four teams in its pool and then will be placed in a bracket based on the results.

Oregon’s pool is comprised of some very stiff competition, which includes last year’s national champions, the UC Berkeley Golden Bears.

“They’re unreal, amazing,” Plutsky said. “We’re just going in with a positive attitude and we’ll have a great time.”

The team flies out from Portland on Wednesday morning and then competes in the tournament from the 14^th-16^th.

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After a crushing 14-2 loss to Stanford this past Friday, the Oregon women’s lacrosse team bounced back and trounced UC Davis 15-3 on Sunday.

Oregon came out strong as Cambi Cukar scored Oregon’s first goal less than a minute and a half into the game. The Ducks kept that momentum as Madeline Reece scored at 25:29 and Mariah Gatti scored two goals at 23:46 and 20:17, giving the Ducks a 4-0 lead.

Shortly after Gatti’s second goal, UC Davis scored two goals within 10 seconds to shorten the Duck’s lead to two. The Ducks lead 4-2 going into the break.

Gatti scored her third and fourth goals of the day to begin the second period, before UC Davis’ Courtney Neff scored with 25:34 on the clock.

From that point on, Oregon went on a 9-0 run to take over the game. The run included three goals and three assists from Carly O’Connell, three goals from Shannon Williams, and Gatti’s career-high fifth goal of the day.

The Ducks (9-5, 4-3 MPSF) will play Denver at home this Friday.

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Oregon women’s lacrosse fell to No. 10 Stanford, 14-2 on Friday. This is Oregon’s second home loss of the season, and brings the Ducks’ record to 8-5 (3-3 MPSF).

Stanford’s Kelsey Murray scored in the first 11 seconds, giving Stanford a quick 1-0 lead. Shortly after, Stanford’s Kelly Myers scored with 23:59 left in the first period to increase the Cardinal lead to two.

After 10 minutes of a strong defensive hold for the Ducks, Stanford went on a 6-0 run before the end of the first period, increasing the Cardinal lead to 8-0.

Stanford once again came out strong with a goal by Dillon Schoen 44 seconds into the second period. Less than two minutes later, Stanford’s Anna Salemo scored to give the Cardinal a 10-0 lead.

Oregon finally got on the board when junior midfielder Rachel Steinberg scored on a free position attempt, leaving 25:28 left to play.

The Cardinal responded with 17:43 left on the clock to extend the lead back to ten. Oregon, however, did not allow for that lead to last, and the Duck’s Carly O’Connell scored less than a minute later, cutting the Oregon deficit to nine.

The Ducks were unable to cut the Cardinal lead to any fewer than that, and Stanford went on to score the final three goals of the game.

Next up, the Ducks look to recover from this loss as they play UC Davis on Sunday.

Oregon women’s lacrosse sealed its two-game trip to the Bay Area with a 19-3 victory against Saint Mary’s Sunday. This win brings the Ducks’ record to 8-4 (2-2 MPSF Conference).

Sophomore attacker Cambi Cukar scored the first goal just four minutes into the game. By the end of regulation, she led the team in assists, tallying four.

Oregon went on to score two more goals before Saint Mary’s had a breakthrough. With 20:36 left in the first period, Saint Mary’s Hanna Dalrymple made a free-position shot, cutting Oregon’s lead from three to two.

It didn’t take long before Oregon extended that lead. Over the next five minutes, Oregon added goals from Mariah Gatti and Rachel Steinberg to increase its lead to 5-1.

The Gaels’ AnnaMarie Carmazzi scored with 12:34 left on the clock before the Ducks went on a 6-0 run. They led 11-2 after the first period.

Steinberg scored again to start the second period, giving the Ducks a 12-2 lead. Oregon then went on a 6-0 run before Saint Mary’s Meagan Bennett scored the Gaels’ final goal.

To round off the scoring, Oregon’s Nikita Bagg scored on a free-position shot with three minutes left in the game.

Goalies Jenna Morris and Becca Katzen split playing time for the Ducks, each playing one period. Morris tallied three saves and two goals against. The one was her eighth of the year.

In this dominant performance, the Ducks outshot Saint Mary’s 48-7. They recorded 12 ground balls to Saint Mary’s seven and 18 draw controls to the Gaels’ six.

Oregon looks to continue this trend of success when it faces No. 9 Stanford at home on Friday.

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Oregon men’s tennis concluded its home schedule Sunday with a 4-0 sweep of the Utah Utes. This was the final home match for Oregon’s three seniors: Daan Maasland, Brent Chin and Bartosz Sawicki.

Maasland, who came to Oregon from the Netherlands, is ranked No. 67 in the ITA. During his four years at Oregon he had a record 76 career singles wins and 68 career doubles wins, third-most in Oregon history.

“The experience was great,” Maasland said. “It went by really fast, but it feels like a long time ago that I came here. I grew up here, with the tennis, but also with outside of the court.”

The win brings Oregon’s record to 15-4, 1-2 Pac-12.

Oregon secured the doubles point with a 6-2 win from Jayson Amos and Armando Soemarno on No. 1 and a 6-4 victory on No. 3 from Cormac Clissold and Thomas Laurent. This was the 13th straight doubles point for the Ducks.

Amos won the first singles point 6-2, 6-3 against Egbert Weverink on court No. 4, giving Oregon a 2-0 lead. Oregon’s domination continued as Stevens defeated David Micevski 6-1, 7-6 (4) to capture Oregon’s third point on No. 2. The Ducks finally clinched the match when Ethan Young-Smith beat Jamey Swiggart 7-5, 6-3 on No. 6.

Next up, Oregon will play Pacific in Stockton, California on Wednesday.

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After three straight Pac-12 losses, Oregon women’s tennis had the daunting task of facing top ranked California, who has been unstoppable so far this season.

That trend continued. The Ducks were unable to compete with California, losing 7-0. The loss brings the Duck’s record to 11-6, 3-4 Pac-12.

Cal clinched the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. Oregon’s Paloma Gomez and Daniela Nasser dropped a 6-0 decision to begin the day. The cold streak continued when Marlou Kluiving and Shweta Sangwan fell to Klara Fabikova and Olivia Hauger 6-3 on court No. 2.

The Ducks hit yet another bump in the road when sophomore Alyssa Tobita was injured as singles play began. It subsequently forced her to retire the match and added to Cal’s lead, 2-0.

Gomez fell to Karla Popovic 6-3, 6-0, making the score 3-0. Shortly after, Cal clinched the match on court five when freshman Daniela Nasser fell 6-0, 6-2 to Hauger.

After the match was decided, No. 93 Denise Starr defeated Kluiving 6-4, 6-4. On court No. 2, No. 11 Fabikova defeated Sangwan, 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (5). Nia Rose fell to No. 64 Lynn Chi, 6-2, 7-6 (3) on court No. 3.

The Ducks will remain in the Bay Area to play No. 18 Stanford on Saturday.

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