Ducks Top USC, Stay Perfect at Home

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon stayed perfect at home on the season by picking up yet another win over a quality opponent, beating No. 38 USC, 5-2, on Friday at the UO Outdoor Tennis Courts. The Ducks moved to 11-3 on the year and 4-1 in Pac-12 play, extending their conference winning streak to four matches.
 
"Today was a great match,' said head coach Courtney Nagle. We played well today and were able to put ourselves in great position on every court against a very good USC team. I'm so proud of our team for the way they showed up to play and the grit we demonstrated all the way to the end. To have one of our fifth-year seniors clinch it for us is always special."
 
How it Happened: As has been the case nearly all year, Oregon started off with a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point. Rifanty Kahfiani and Uxia Martinez Moral finished off a 6-3 win at the No. 1 spot before Allison Mulville and Julia Eshet also won their match comfortably at No. 3 with a 6-3 victory of their own to clinch the point.
 
The Ducks kept it rolling into singles, winning the first set in all six matches. Janice Tjen put up the second point of the day, making quick work of a ranked opponent at the No. 1 spot with a 6-3, 6-3 win. Uxia Martinez Moral followed with a dominant win of her own, prevailing 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 4 spot to put Oregon a point away from clinching.
 
Things tightened up a bit from there, as the Ducks had chances to clinch at both the No. 3 and 5 spots but dropped their second sets there. Eshet put it away at the No. 6 spot, though, winning a two-set battle with Clare McKee, 7-6(4), 7-5 to give Oregon the win. Ares Teixido Garcia delivered a win at the No. 5 spot while Lillian Mould and Kahfiani both dropped three-setters to ranked opponents to finish off the remainder of the matches.
 
Notable: The four-match conference winning streak is the longest by an Oregon team since at least 1999 … The win was Oregon's first over USC since 2017 … Tjen topped a ranked opponent for the first time in her career and moved to 12-1 on the season … Eshet moved into eighth place alone on Oregon's all-time singles wins list with the 62nd of her career … Tjen and Mould lost in doubles play for the first time all year, sitting at 10-1 … The Ducks are 14-1 in the doubles point this season.
 
Oregon 5, No. 38 USC 2
Doubles
1. Rifanty Kahfiani/Uxia Martinez Moral (ORE) def. Eryn Cayetano/Angela Kulikov (USC – 6-3
2. Salma Ewing/Clare McKee (USC) def. Lillian Mould/Janice Tjen (ORE) – 6-4
3. Allison Mulville/Julia Eshet (ORE) def. Summer Dvorak/Danielle Wilson (USC) – 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
 
Singles
1. Janice Tjen (ORE) def. No. 91 Eryn Cayetano (USC), 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 122 Salma Ewing (USC) def. Lillian Mould (ORE), 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-1
3. No. 62 Naomi Cheong (USC) def. Rifanty Kahfiani (ORE), 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
4. Uxia Martinez Moral (ORE) def. Danielle Wilson (USC) 6-2, 6-2
5. Ares Teixido Garcia (ORE) def. Summer Dvorak (USC), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
6. Julia Eshet (ORE) def. Clare McKee (USC), 7-6(4), 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 4, 2, 6*, 5, 3
*clincher
 
Up Next: Oregon takes on No. 10 UCLA on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the Student Tennis Center.