April 10, 1998

EUGENE, Ore.-- In their first of two weekend dates against top-10 opponents, the University of Oregon lost to Southern California at the Eugene Swim and Tennis Club. The Ducks played hard, but were unable to beat USC, proving why the Trojans are No. 9 in the nation.

"We didn't get it done today," said head coach Chris Russell. "We weren't as ready as we needed to be to compete against them [USC]."

Oregon fell in straight sets, except in the No. 2 singles match-up of Guillermo Carter and USC's Roman Kukal. Carter lost in the first set 6-1, but came on strong in the second match to defeat Kukal 6-1. In the tie-breaking match, Guillermo fought hard for the win but came up short, with a 6-3 loss. The Ducks' No. 1 singles player, Erwan Kergroach, fell to George Bastl, #33 in the nation, 6-1, 6-2.

In doubles, Oregon's Kergroach and Carter were unable to continue their five-match winning streak, falling to No. 33 Bastl and Peter Gottesleben, 8-3, taking their record to 14-6

The Ducks dropped to 11-10 for the season, but have two more matches remaining for the season, both at home. The Ducks will return Saturday to host No. 8 UCLA for the first time ever. The Bruins feature four individuals who are nationally ranked in the top 85. The match will be held on the 15th Street courts at 12:00pm. In case of rain, the dual will moved to Willow Creek at 11:45am.

 

Team Score:
USC 7, Oregon 0

Singles:
1. George Bastl (USC) def. Erwan Kergroach (UO), 6-4, 6-2 
2. Roman Kukal (USC) def. Guillermo Carter (UO), 6-4,1-6, 8-6 
3. Patrick Gottesleben (USC) def. Carlos Navarro (UO), 6-1, 6-3 
4. Kyle Spencer (USC) def. Joaquin Hamdan (UO), 6-3, 7-5 
5. Fernando Samayoa (USC) def. Miguel Arriaga (UO), 6-4, 6-2 
6. Christoph Poehler (USC) def. Cedric Van Haver (UO), 7-6, 7-5 

Doubles:
1. Bastl/Gottesleben (USC) def. Kergroach/Carter (UO), 8-3 
2. Kukal/Samayoa (USC) def. Hamdan/Navarro (UO), 8-4 
3. Spencer/Akram Zaman (USC) def. Arriaga/Becker (UO), 8-4