Author Archives | Max Koebel, Sports Writer

Looking ahead to next year

The University of Oregon has just about finished its first full year in the Big Ten. Many of the Ducks teams produced historic seasons that will be remembered for a long time, and the Eugene community can anticipate similar results next year. Let’s look at five must-watch games next season.

No. 5: Volleyball at Purdue

On the night before Thanksgiving at Matthew Knight Arena, the Ducks were a point away from sweeping the heavily favored Boilermakers. Purdue came all the way back to shock the crowd with a victory in five sets. Oregon will look very different next season with a new coach and roster, but they will still be seeking redemption in a tough road environment.

No. 4: Baseball vs. Oregon State

The Willamette Valley is home to two of the nation’s top teams in the country. The Beavers had a lot of success against the Ducks in recent years, but this year was very different as Oregon swept OSU in four games. Next year will have major implications for who the better Oregon team is.

No. 3: Women’s Basketball vs. Washington

Regardless of the sport, UO always looks forward to a battle against its foes from Seattle. This year, women’s basketball gave Eugene a show. After 40 minutes of tight action, the Ducks pulled ahead by one point. The Huskies handled business on their home court, but next year should bring more neck-in-neck basketball.

No. 2: Men’s Basketball vs. Michigan

The last time Michigan played at Matthew Knight Arena, a shorthanded Ducks team faced a small deficit for most of the game. The moment everyone remembers was freshman Jackson Shelstad’s three-point buzzer-beater for the win in overtime in his first game as a Duck. Oregon struggled in Ann Arbor this year, but when the matchup returns to Eugene, UO fans should be in for a treat.

No. 1: Football at Penn State

Two teams with a reputation of losing “big games” in front of a “White Out” in Happy Valley. The Ducks got the best of the Nittany Lions in their Conference Championship matchup in Indianapolis. Now, a less experienced Ducks team makes an early-season visit to one of the Big Ten’s toughest environments for what should be the biggest test for Dan Lanning’s squad.

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Over the river and through the woods to Hayward Field

Across the Willamette River, just four miles from the University of Oregon campus, is Sheldon High School. Sheldon is one of four public high schools in Eugene and it is one that many schools throughout the Willamette Valley view as a threat in any athletic competition.

Sheldon is the alma mater of Justin and Patrick Herbert — two well-renowned alumni of the Ducks’ football program. Justin was the starting quarterback from 2016-2019. In his final season, he led Oregon to a Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl victory before going to the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of the NFL draft. Patrick just finished his final season in a Ducks uniform at tight end and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars last month. The brothers serve as just two examples of the loaded athletic talent that goes through Sheldon.

High schools throughout Oregon will once again have the opportunity to see how dangerously talented the Sheldon Fighting Irish can be this weekend when Tracktown, USA opens its doors to the OSAA State Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. This will be an incredible opportunity for many high school athletes throughout the state to visit such an iconic college venue and compete in a state championship. There is no doubt that the competition will be tight and that there will be standout performances from many schools, but there is a significant chance that one of those schools will be the one just up the road.

Sheldon has a long history of making its mark in the Top 10 all-time in these Track and Field Championship events. Dating back to 2003, senior Joel Hoff ran 800 meters with a time of 1:52.65, which is currently ranked No. 9 all time for the event. The following year, senior Jeff Erb ran the 800 meter 1:51.63, which puts him at No. 5 overall.

In the 4 x 400 Relay, Tyrell Jagelski, Michael Hanks, Drew Stringfield and Anthony Yakovich finished in 3:20.02 in 2008, which ranks at No. 10 for the event. Eight years later, Damian Williams, Jenner Higgins, Dimitri Williams and Cade O’Connor relayed in 3:19.16, which is ranked No. 7.

Just two years ago in the 4 x 100 Relay, Grafton Robinson, Owen Phillips, Zachery McEwen and Brock Thomas made it to the finish line in 41.90, which ranks No. 9 for the event. Ranked No. 1 in the 4 x 100 Relay are 2014 Sheldon athletes Adam Starnes, Nathan Starnes, Tyus Kuykendall and Mitch Horning, who finished in 41.19.

Finally, last year, sophomore Malachi Schoenherr ran 3000 meters in 8:14.18, ranking No. 7 for the event. As a junior, he will be looking to put his name in the rankings once again.

The competition is always tight with over a dozen high schools fighting for state-wide attention, but no one should bet against Sheldon’s ability to stay in the mix and break records year after year.

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No. 5 Oregon overcomes quiet offensive nights in 6-3 win over Saint Mary’s

On a warm Tuesday evening, PK Park celebrated Star Wars night as the No. 5 Oregon Ducks (34-13, 16-8 Big Ten) defeated the Saint Mary’s College Gaels (26-21, 10-8 WCC ) 6-3 in the first of a two-game midweek series. This was the beginning of a five-game homestand that will run through Sunday as the Ducks look to close out the regular season on a winning note in hopes of hosting a series in the postseason.

Toby Twist opened the game with his first trip to the mound since March of 2024. Twist made four appearances last season before suffering a season-ending arm injury that kept him on the bench until Tuesday. Twist began with a strikeout before allowing a walk and a pair of hits to put Saint Mary’s on the board early. A sac fly brought home another run to make it 2-0 in the top of the first.

The Ducks took the lead right back with a first-inning rally of their own. Coen Niclai got things going with a one-out double. He advanced to third on a groundout from Jacob Walsh. Drew Smith got on base via a walk to set the table for Anson Aroz, who struck a long fly ball that just barely cleared the fence in left field for a three-run homer.

“We had a lot of guys rolling into the dugout after that first half inning just saying, ‘win the inning,’” Aroz said. “So they scored two, we need to score three or more, and to have the opportunity to do it was huge. That situation is just a competitive at-bat. You know, a hit is big, getting a run in. I got a couple changeups early. I had a feeling he would go back to it a third time and ended up running into it pretty well.”

Ian Umlandt took over on the mound in the second. The Gaels made noise with a couple two-out hits, but Umlandt pitched through it and got the ground ball to escape the inning without surrendering a run. He lasted 6.2 innings where he threw 89 pitches and allowed one run on five hits and a walk and recorded two strikeouts.

“I knew I had the game after Twist was done,” Umlandt said. “So that was nice ahead of time, I was able to plan the last couple days. Just the opportunity and having a true enjoyment in that and just being grateful that it’s an opportunity and doing my best to run with it.”

The Ducks’ offense was quiet in the second, but they tacked on another run in the third on a solo shot to right field from Mason Neville, his nation-leading 24th homer of the season.

Saint Mary’s cut into Oregon’s lead in the fourth. A lead-off double off the bat of Jared Mettam got things going. He came around to score on a pair of ground balls, but Umlandt was able to limit the damage to just the one hit. 

Oregon got a pair of base runners for free in the bottom half of the fourth on a catcher’s interference and a walk, but could not capitalize. It was given another free rally in the fifth inning with a pair of two-out walks, but the Ducks still could not take advantage of the RBI opportunity. 

The bottom of the sixth opened with yet another free opportunity for the Ducks. Maddox Molony and Parker Stinson led things off with another pair of walks before Ryan Cooney was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. This time, the Ducks were able to take advantage. A fielder’s choice ground ball from Carter Garate and a sac fly from Neville extended it to a 6-3 Oregon lead without the Ducks recording a hit.

“We need to get the offense really going,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “We didn’t really swing the bat great tonight. Maybe tomorrow will be the night. I don’t know, maybe a little bit of a hangover. You know, long trip getting back from Michigan. East Coast time zone and now we play on Tuesday. I hope that’s probably the case.”

Both offenses were quiet in the seventh inning. The Ducks led off the bottom of the eighth with their first hit since the third inning on a single from Molony. It didn’t go anywhere as the inning ended on a double-play ground ball, but it didn’t matter.

Cole Stokes and Santiago Garcia combined to record the final four outs on Tuesday. The two faced a total of five hitters, used 11 combined pitches, fanned one and didn’t allow a single hit.

The Ducks and Gaels will play again on Wednesday night at PK Park with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m.

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Oregon Team Invitational: field events

On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Hayward Field, athletes from Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, Kansas State University, Wichita State University, Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University came to compete in the Oregon Team Invitational.

“It was really fun,” Oregon distance runner Ella Nelson said. “This was a scored meet, which we don’t usually do for a home meet, so I think it was more fun competing that way, and it was great to have a bunch of high-level schools at the track today.”

Women’s discus was the first event containing Oregon athletes, which kicked off at 4:00 p.m. It was not a strong event for the Ducks, as the two participants finished in the bottom two spots.

Women’s long jump was a little better as both Oregon participants finished in the middle. All 13 competitors finished within less than two meters of each other. Hannah Ganashamoorthy came in tenth with 5.52 meters, while Casssandra Atkins finished sixth with 5.75 meters.

The first event where an Oregon athlete finished on top was the men’s shot put. All ten participants including Ducks Kobe Lawrence and Aidan Elbettar went at least nine meters. Lawrence led the way with 19.28 meters to secure the top spot by less than two meters.

The next winning event for Oregon was the men’s high jump. All nine competitors finished within half a meter of each other. The participating Ducks were Shaun Miller Jr. and Treydarius Tintinger, who both finished in the top three. Tintinger came in third with 2.06 meters while Miller finished on top with 2.11 meters.

The long jump was Oregon’s worst event on the men’s side, which doesn’t say a lot. The participating Ducks were Bryce Simpson and Safin Wills. Of the nine competitors, Wills came in fifth with 7.23 meters. Just ahead of him was Simpson, who finished with 7.28 meters.

Women’s high jump was a bit less impressive for the Oregon competitors. Of the 11 participants, Ryann Porter came in last with 1.55 meters. Annika Williams did a bit better, recording 1.70 meters and finishing fifth.

Women’s shot put had a very similar result. Oregon’s Kohana Nakato finished last with 8.75 meters, while Williams’ performance had her finishing fourth with 14.42 meters.

The final first-place event for the Ducks was the men’s discus. It was a tremendous success for both Oregon participants, who each finished in the top two out of the ten participants. Lawrence narrowly escaped in second place with 55.35 meters; 0.1 ahead of the third-place athlete from Wichita State. The only man ahead of him was Elbettar, who cruised to a 57.81 meter performance that placed him on top.

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Oregon completes the sweep of Michigan with 9-1 win

The Oregon softball team (35-3, 9-1 Big Ten) swept the Michigan Wolverines (27-12, 6-4 Big Ten) in a doubleheader at Jane Sanders Stadium when what looked like a pitcher’s duel turned into an offensive explosion.

The Ducks plated seven runs in the fourth inning to take control of a dominant win.

“We just had all the energy,” Kendre Luschar said. “We were our normal selves. That’s what we do. We’re energy.”

Lyndsey Grein pitched the entire game for Oregon and allowed no earned runs, three hits and recorded five strikeouts.

The Oregon offense threatened in the first inning with a pair of hits and a fielder’s choice ground ball to put runners on the corners with two outs, but could not capitalize.

The game remained scoreless until the third when the Ducks had action again, beginning with a Kai Luschar single. Paige Sinicki then reached on a fielder’s choice before stealing second. Then Rilee McCoy walked and Remmington Hewitt singled to load the bases. This time, they did come through with a two-RBI single from Dezianna Patmon for the first runs of the game. Oregon threatened to do more when Stefini Ma’ake re-loaded the bases with a walk, but settled for just the two runs.

Michigan responded in the fourth with a run on a pair of singles, a stolen base and a throwing error by catcher Braiesey Rosa, but Oregon picked up right where it left off in the bottom half. A walk to Kaylynn Jones, a single by Luschar, a sacrifice bunt by Trinity Holden, and a walk for McCoy loaded the bases. 

“Coach made a great call,” Holden said. “She called bunt for both of them. The first one, obviously I didn’t get it down, but it was just one of those things where I was like, ‘no way’, you know, I didn’t get it down, but it didn’t matter, so I moved on to the next one and said, ‘watch this.’”

A pair of RBI singles by Kedre Luschar and Patmon made it 5-1 Ducks. That was followed by back-to-back home runs from Ma’ake and Rosa to make it 9-1.

“It was just sitting one pitch and finding it,” Ma’ake said. “She never threw it to me the other time so I was like, ‘okay, this has gotta be the one’, so I was like, ‘okay, I’m just gonna sit back and bang it.’”

Michigan did not score again and the game was called after the top of the fifth inning. The Ducks return to Jane Sanders Stadium this Monday when they host Loyola Marymount University. First pitch is set for 12:00 PM.

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Ducks open doubleheader with 5-4 walk-off win over Michigan

The Oregon softball team (34-3, 8-1 Big Ten) hosted the Michigan Wolverines (27-11, 6-3 Big Ten) for the first game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon. The Ducks wasted no time getting their offense going in the first inning. They were quiet for the rest of the game until the very end when it mattered most.

On the mound, Staci Chambers opened the game and pitched the first two innings. She allowed three earned runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout. Elise Sokolsky pitched the remaining five innings and allowed no runs, two hits and three walks while recording six strikeouts.

The game opened with a Michigan single, but the runner attempted to steal second base when the next batter hit a popup, and the throw beat her back to first for a double play. A strikeout for the following hitter ended the inning with no damage done.

The bottom of the first opened with a walk to Kai Luschar followed by Paige Sinicki being hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on a double steal. Luschar scored on a sac-fly from Katie Flannery and then a single from Kendre Luschar knocked in Sinicki to make it 2-0 Ducks at the end of one.

Michigan’s offense got going in the second starting with a leadoff single. Then, a two-out walk followed by a double tied the game at two. Oregon’s offense blanked in the second. In the third, a single followed by a home run off the right field scoreboard gave the Wolverines a 4-2 lead. The score remained the same until the seventh inning.

With the Ducks down to their final three outs, Braiesey Rosa was hit by a pitch to lead things off. She was pinch run for by Elyse Kresho. That was followed by a Kaylynn Jones single before Kai Luschar was also hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. 

Kresho scored on an RBI-groundout from Sinicki followed by a walk to Rilee McCoy to load the bases again before Jones came home to tie the game on a wild pitch. With runners on second and third and two outs, Kendre Luschar walked it off with a base hit to give the Ducks a 5-4 win.

The Ducks and the Wolverines will play one more game on Saturday night as Oregon hunts a sweep.

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Oregon survives in 77-73 upset win over Vanderbilt in the opening round of March Madness

The No. 10 seeded Oregon women’s basketball team improved to 12-5 in the March Madness Tournament under Kelly Graves as they traveled to Durham, North Carolina and narrowly escaped with a 77-73 win over the No. 7 Vanderbilt University Commodores.

The Ducks were led by Deja Kelly, who recorded 20 points and eight rebounds, Nani Falatea, who scored 17 points with four rebounds and a block and Peyton Scott, who had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Scott was the hero in the final minute of overtime when she drew an offensive foul with the Ducks clinging to the lead and then sealed the game with two free throws.

It was a tightly-contested matchup from the tipoff. Neither team held a lead larger than three points anytime in the opening quarter. Turnovers were an issue early for the Ducks, who committed seven in the first quarter, but the defense stood strong on the other end to keep the game close. 

Vanderbilt shot 3-for-15 in the quarter and committed four turnovers. Oregon also struggled to find the bottom of the basket in the opening quarter, shooting 4-for-13. It was because the defense held Vanderbilt to nine first-quarter points (its lowest scoring first quarter of the season), the Ducks took a three-point lead into the end of the quarter.

The scoring picked up towards the end of the first half as Oregon built on its lead while maintaining a strong defense. The Ducks led the entire quarter with their largest lead being 13. Vanderbilt shot 8-for-27 in the first half and 0-for-5 from three. Oregon won the physical battle in the first half, out rebounding the Commodores 19-11.

The first half leaders for Oregon were Katie Fiso, Scott, Kelly, Sofie Bell, and Falatea. Fiso recorded eight points, shooting 4-for-4. Scott scored seven points while shooting 2-for-2 including a 3-pointer, three rebounds, and two assists. Kelly, Bell and Falatea each scored six points. Bell recorded two 3-point field goals and Kelly and Falatea each recorded three rebounds. The Ducks held an 11-point lead at halftime.

Oregon came out of the locker room and began the third quarter with its foot on the gas. Kelly and Falatea continued to lead the way on the scoring side while Amina Muhammad and Phillipina Kyei started to get more involved. Oregon led by as much as 19 in the quarter.

Vanderbilt cut into the lead a bit with a 9-2 run midway through the third quarter, but an Oregon timeout got the Ducks back on track. Oregon’s lead was down to 12 entering the fourth quarter.

The Ducks forced a turnover on the opening possession of the quarter, which was followed by a 3-pointer from Kelly to bring the momentum back to Oregon.

The Commodores did not give up their fight as the clock wound down. A 12-2 Vanderbilt run cut the deficit to five, the smallest since the first quarter. It was the turnovers that hurt the Ducks the same way they had before Oregon built a large lead in the first half. Oregon still showed signs of life, but Vanderbilt was not letting up.

The Ducks found themselves clinging to a one-point lead going into the final minute. The free throws hurt them the most as they missed multiple opportunities to put the game away as the fourth quarter ended in a tie.

Vanderbilt took its first lead since the first quarter just over a minute into overtime. Oregon continued to struggle from the free throw line when it mattered most, finishing the game 15-for-27. Neither team led by more than two until there were seven seconds remaining andScott finally had a successful trip to the line to put the game away.

The Ducks will play the winner of tonight’s contest between Duke University and Lehigh University on Sunday, March 23.

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Oregon softball is bringing out the bats

Softball season is underway and the Oregon Ducks are off to an explosive start. One of the biggest offensive weapons for Oregon thus far has been its ability to hit the home run ball. As a whole, the Ducks have hit 36 homers up to this point.

A key contributor to Oregon’s home run success has been its freshman class. First baseman Rylee McCoy has hit 9 home runs with 23 hits and 20 RBIs. She is batting .460 with a 1.597 OPS and a 1.080 slugging percentage entering March. McCoy was ranked No. 2 nationally at first base and No. 15 overall in high school by Extra Inning Softball.

Also in the mix of Oregon’s power hitting is freshman pitcher and infielder Stefini Ma’ake, who has hit eight home runs and recorded 24 hits and 24 RBIs as of March 2. Ma’ake was ranked No. 12 in the nation by Extra Inning Softball in high school and played club softball with fellow Ducks Paige Sinicki, Ayanna Shaw, Taylour Spencer, and Emma Cox.

Emma Cox is another freshman who Oregon softball fans should have their eyes on. She was a three-way athlete in high school, participating in softball, basketball, and volleyball. The catcher has recorded 4 home runs along with 17 hits and 15 RBIs through her first month as a Ducks.

In addition to the group of freshmen who have made their presence felt early, the Ducks also have several older players who have seen the team through its ups and downs in recent years and are thrilled to see a promising start to this season. Senior shortstop Paige Sinicki is coming off of a tremendous junior season on both sides of the ball. 

Not only was she named Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year and awarded an NFCA Rawlings Gold Glove, but recorded a career high batting average of .282 with 16 RBIs. This year, she is batting .421 so far while recording 24 hits with 4 home runs and 15 RBIs (as of March 1) as she looks to build on last season.

Senior infielder Dezianna Patmon is off to a hot start offensively. She is in her first season at Oregon after playing two seasons at North Carolina A&T State University, and one at New Mexico State University. In those three seasons, Patmon has hit 26 home runs with 78 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .600.

In the first weekend of March, the Ducks played their first pair of home games this season and they came in swinging. Scoring 18 runs between the two games brings a lot of fire to the dugout and to the fans. McCoy, Ma’ake, and Patmon had the biggest standout performances with the bat that day in front of one of the largest crowds Jane Sanders Stadium has ever seen.

“It’s a dream come true,” Ma’ake said, “especially at our home opener in front of all the fans. A bunch of the parents came up to me and were like ‘we’ve never seen a fanbase this big at the Jane,’ so we were like, ‘okay, we’re not gonna think too big, we’re just gonna see the ball, hit the ball’ and I think we really executed that well.”

This team has a diverse range of talent. It has experienced seniors, some of whom have been in Eugene for awhile, and others who just arrived through the transfer portal. When you combine all of them with the hungry squad of freshmen, you have a team with the potential to swing deep. There is no ceiling under the sky that will limit how far this group can go.

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Oregon softball is bringing out the bats

Softball season is underway and the Oregon Ducks are off to an explosive start. One of the biggest offensive weapons for Oregon thus far has been its ability to hit the home run ball. As a whole, the Ducks have hit 36 homers up to this point.

A key contributor to Oregon’s home run success has been its freshman class. First baseman Rylee McCoy has hit 9 home runs with 23 hits and 20 RBIs. She is batting .460 with a 1.597 OPS and a 1.080 slugging percentage entering March. McCoy was ranked No. 2 nationally at first base and No. 15 overall in high school by Extra Inning Softball.

Also in the mix of Oregon’s power hitting is freshman pitcher and infielder Stefini Ma’ake, who has hit eight home runs and recorded 24 hits and 24 RBIs as of March 2. Ma’ake was ranked No. 12 in the nation by Extra Inning Softball in high school and played club softball with fellow Ducks Paige Sinicki, Ayanna Shaw, Taylour Spencer, and Emma Cox.

Emma Cox is another freshman who Oregon softball fans should have their eyes on. She was a three-way athlete in high school, participating in softball, basketball, and volleyball. The catcher has recorded 4 home runs along with 17 hits and 15 RBIs through her first month as a Ducks.

In addition to the group of freshmen who have made their presence felt early, the Ducks also have several older players who have seen the team through its ups and downs in recent years and are thrilled to see a promising start to this season. Senior shortstop Paige Sinicki is coming off of a tremendous junior season on both sides of the ball. 

Not only was she named Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year and awarded an NFCA Rawlings Gold Glove, but recorded a career high batting average of .282 with 16 RBIs. This year, she is batting .421 so far while recording 24 hits with 4 home runs and 15 RBIs (as of March 1) as she looks to build on last season.

Senior infielder Dezianna Patmon is off to a hot start offensively. She is in her first season at Oregon after playing two seasons at North Carolina A&T State University, and one at New Mexico State University. In those three seasons, Patmon has hit 26 home runs with 78 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .600.

In the first weekend of March, the Ducks played their first pair of home games this season and they came in swinging. Scoring 18 runs between the two games brings a lot of fire to the dugout and to the fans. McCoy, Ma’ake, and Patmon had the biggest standout performances with the bat that day in front of one of the largest crowds Jane Sanders Stadium has ever seen.

“It’s a dream come true,” Ma’ake said, “especially at our home opener in front of all the fans. A bunch of the parents came up to me and were like ‘we’ve never seen a fanbase this big at the Jane,’ so we were like, ‘okay, we’re not gonna think too big, we’re just gonna see the ball, hit the ball’ and I think we really executed that well.”

This team has a diverse range of talent. It has experienced seniors, some of whom have been in Eugene for awhile, and others who just arrived through the transfer portal. When you combine all of them with the hungry squad of freshmen, you have a team with the potential to swing deep. There is no ceiling under the sky that will limit how far this group can go.

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Oregon men’s tennis remains perfect at home with 6-1 win over New Mexico

The Oregon men’s tennis team (6-2) remains undefeated at home after a 6-1 win Friday night over the University of New Mexico Lobos (1-3). The Ducks now have a winning streak of four.

“We compete really hard,” Head Coach Nils Schyllander said. “You know, everybody talks about them. There’s just a good camaraderie on the team. You see the guys supporting that are not playing and I think you see these close sets and it falls in our favor just because we compete really hard.”

The doubles were evenly matched with both sides rallying together. It was the Ducks who had the slight advantage in two out of the three sets.

Paris Pouatcha and Clement Lemire took an early 1-0 lead in the opening doubles set. It was a back-and-forth state of affairs as the two sides spent nearly the entire set exchanging points. The set was even at four when the Ducks finally rose above for good and claimed the set 6-4.

Lenn Luemkemann and Matthew Burton struggled to keep up in their doubles set. Their opponents out played them all the way down the stretch and took the set 6-2.

Vlad Breazu and Lachlan Robertson maintained the lead for most of their doubles set. New Mexico hung around for a long time, making it by far the longest lasting doubles set of the match. Several minutes after the other two courts finished and all eyes were on them, the Ducks rose to the occasion and secured a 6-4 win to take the point for the doubles.

Oregon swept all six singles in the first round.

“I think the most important thing is the energy we bring to each game,” Breazu said. “We’ve gotta start right from the beginning in doubles. We cannot start slow because otherwise, doubles point can be crucial in some moments, and then once we got doubles point, I think carrying that momentum to singles play was also very important.”

Breazu was one of many Ducks who engaged in two very close singles rounds, but in the end he had the slight advantage in both as he secured the first round 6-4, and the second 7-6.

Pouatcha started the singles set off in a close battle, but slowly moved ahead. After several deuces in the middle sets, he finished it off with a shutout to secure the round 6-2. Pouatcha took care of his opponent in the second singles round and finished it off with another 6-2 win.

Lemire came into the singles hot and jumped to a 2-0 lead. His opponent responded and caught up to him down the stretch. They were even at six, but Lemire scored the final point to secure the set 7-6. He dominated a much less competitive second round and finished off his singles match with a 6-2 win.

Burton was very quick to jump ahead of his opponent, who never stood a chance. He was up 5-0 before the man across from him showed any signs of life. Burton performed a shutout to finish off the set 6-2. He struggled more in the second singles round and was defeated 6-3, but it didn’t matter.

Luemkemann also faced some tightly contested battles in the singles rounds. Neither he nor his opponent held a lead larger than one until it was over. They were still even at five until Luemkemann finally moved ahead for the 7-5 win. His opponent tried to stick with him in the second round, but Luemkemann just had too much fuel and clinched the match for Oregon with a 6-3 win.

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