University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Heads West to Take on Ducks
1/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Sitting at 2-2 following a pair of losses to ranked opponents at ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C., the No. 72-ranked Minnesota women's tennis team will travel west to Eugene, Ore. to play Oregon. The match, the Gophers' only contest on the weekend, is the third of five-consecutive matches away from the Baseline Tennis Center for the Maroon and Gold. It is slated to start at 1 p.m. CT.
ABOUT OREGON
Under first-year head coach Alison Silverio, Oregon has gotten off to a 1-0 start in 2015. The Ducks, whose home opener will come Saturday, took to Las Vegas, Nev. for its first match of the season last week, toppling UNLV, 6-1. Freshman Nia Rose, who put together a 7-4 fall campaign, won a super tiebreaker decision in the top spot in the team's first match. Senior Nicole Long, who won at No. 1 singles against the Gophers last season, won in straight sets versus UNLV at No. 2. The Ducks also claimed the doubles point with wins in the top two flights.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Minnesota has won four of five all-time matches against Oregon. The Gophers defeated the Ducks by a score of 6-1 when the teams last met last season at the Baseline Tennis Center. Jessika Mozia, Julia Courter, Paula Rincon-Otero and Aria Lambert won in singles positions Nos. 3-6, respectively, in the mid-February contest. The Maroon and Gold narrowly edged UO in the doubles competition.
LAMBERT MOVING UP
Senior Aria Lambert earned the Gophers' lone singles victory last weekend, dispatching Boston College's Heini Salonen, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 5. The win was the 65th of the Deephaven, Minn. native's career, tying her for 24th on Minnesota's all-time wins list with Natallia Pintusava and Susan Culik. She is now 3-1 in dual match play and has seven wins in 2014-15.
FRESH IMPACT
The Gophers freshman class consists of only two members, but both players are expected to impact the team immediately. In her spring debut, Caroline Ryba won both of her matches at the No. 1 singles position, becoming the first Gopher freshman to win a singles match in the top spot against a Division I opponent since Natallia Pintusava accomplished the feat on April 3, 2011. Her two matches at No. 2 last weekend went unfinished.
Mehvish Safdar has teamed up with senior Tereza Brichacova to go 2-2 at No. 1 doubles flight. In the ITA's Central Region, Ryba is ranked 13th in singles, while Safdar and Brichacova are seventh in doubles.
RETURNING TALENT
Minnesota lost three-time All-Big Ten selection Natallia Pintusava, as well as Yuliana Umanets and Pauline Gilbert, but returns several key players from a year ago. All-conference honoree Tereza Brichacova won 10 singles matches at the No. 1 position last year. The senior Czech Republic native is one of three Gophers with 50 or more career singles wins (53). That list also includes Aria Lambert (65), Jessika Mozia (55) and Julia (51).
UP AND COMING
Minnesota is looking to build upon a successful 2014 campaign. Last year, the Gophers posted their highest win total since 2003 at 17 and recorded their highest conference win total since the same year with six. After beginning last season unranked, the Maroon and Gold climbed as high at 55th en route to a seven-win improvement from the previous season. This season, the Maroon and Gold began the year at No. 71 in the national rankings and are now No. 72.
TOUGH AT HOME
The Baseline Tennis Center has been a tough place to play for visitors over the past two seasons. The Gophers are 17-8 at home under Chuck Merzbacher, including 8-3 last year. On the road, the Gophers were 0-8 in 2013, but improved to 7-2 last year.
HOW THE SCORING WORKS
No-ad scoring will be used in both singles and doubles. Three doubles matches will be played to begin the dual. Each match is one set to six, with a tie-break at six-all. The first team to earn two doubles wins earns one team point. Doubles play will followed by six singles matches (best two of three sets--tie-breaks at six-all). Each singles match is worth one team point.
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