The University of Washington men’s tennis team lost a Big Ten match to Oregon on March 21, with a final score of 4-1 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle. The Huskies’ season record now stands at 7-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
This result is significant as it marks another challenging outing for the Huskies against a top-ranked opponent, impacting their standing within the Big Ten. The team will look to rebound as they prepare for upcoming road matches against Nebraska and Wisconsin next weekend.
The match began with strong doubles performances from Washington. Stephane Kamendje and Rohan Belday secured an early win at No. 3 doubles, defeating their Oregon opponents 6-3. At No. 2 doubles, Nikola Plavsic and Daniel Bien broke a four-match losing streak with a key 6-4 victory, giving the Huskies an initial lead. However, the No. 1 pair of Soham Purohit and Brett Pearson fell to Oregon’s nationally ranked duo after a close contest that ended 6-4 in favor of the Ducks.
In singles play, several matches were closely contested and went to three sets. Kamendje forced a third set against Pierre Mouesca but ultimately lost in a tiebreaker. Both Belday and Hyeonseok Seo had unfinished matches when Oregon clinched the overall victory. Upperclassmen Pearson and Purohit dropped their singles matches to ranked opponents from Oregon, while Bien was defeated in two sets by Russell Soohoo.
Prior to this match, Washington held an all-time record advantage over Oregon but faced a Ducks squad ranked No. 46 nationally with a strong season record of 12-3.
Looking ahead, Washington will travel to face Nebraska on March 27 and Wisconsin on March 28 as they continue their Big Ten schedule.
