Young-Smith Clinches Upset of No. 15 Stanford

Sunday, April 16

Eugene, OR

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

Stanford

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

04/16/17 | Men's Tennis

#23 Oregon 4, #15 Stanford 3

ETHAN YOUNG-SMITH PULLED OUT A HUGE WIN AT NO. 6 SINGLES TO CLINCH A 4-3 UPSET OF NO. 15 STANFORD, TYING THE HIGHEST-RANKED WIN IN PROGRAM HISTORY; THOMAS LAURENT DEFEATED THE NO. 10 SINGLES PLAYER IN THE COUNTRY TO BREAK THE UO SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WITH HIS 28TH VICTORY

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. – Sophomore Ethan Young-Smith clinched a 4-3 upset for the 23rd-ranked Oregon men's tennis team over No. 15 Stanford on Sunday afternoon with a dramatic win at No. 6 singles on the outdoor courts at the Student Tennis Center.

"That was a huge win," said head coach Nils Schyllander. "That's a really big win for our program and it was so exciting watching Ethan battle through adversity to clinch the victory. It puts us in a really good position for a good seed at the NCAA Tournament as well as the Pac-12s in Ojai, so this was really huge."

With the victory, the Ducks (17-5, 3-3 Pac-12) tied the highest-ranked win in program history. More history was made on Sunday for the Ducks, as sophomore Thomas Laurent defeated the 10th-ranked singles player in the country to break the UO single-season record with his 28th singles victory.

How it Happened: Tied at 3-3, the match came down to Young-Smith and Stanford's Jack Barber at the No. 6 spot. With all eyes on him, Young-Smith, who hadn't been in the singles lineup since March 17, rebounded from a 6-2 loss in the first set to pull out the second set, 7-5, and force a third and keep the match alive for the Ducks. Riding the energy of a solid Easter Sunday crowd and his teammates, Young-Smith jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the final set and went on to win, 6-2, and clinch the historic win for Oregon.

That sweet thrill of victory. @ethanyoung55 gets the job done #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/igE9CfOdlA
— Oregon Men's Tennis (@OregonMTennis) April 16, 2017

"That's an unbelievable feeling," Young-Smith said. "Being the one to clinch it, it was just unreal. I never would have imagined myself out there in that situation grinding it out with my teammates and taking the W. It feels really, really good. As a team now, we just feel comfortable in what we're doing, everyone is playing loose and I think we're going to do well."

Stanford (14-6, 4-2 Pac-12) jumped out to an early lead in the match with a win in the doubles point. Oregon's Laurent and Cormac Clissold won at No. 2 doubles, 6-4, over the 81st-ranked pair of Michael Genender and Sameer Kumar for the Ducks.

Oregon fought back furiously in singles to set the stage for Young-Smith's dramatic victory. Clissold started things off at No. 4 singles, taking down Stanford's Brandon Sutter in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to put Oregon on the board. Stanford regained the lead shortly after as David Wilczynski defeated Oregon senior Jayson Amos at No. 3, 6-2, 6-4.

Laurent evened the score, 2-2, with an unbelievable performance at the top spot to break the single-season wins record. Playing against 10th-ranked Tom Fawcett, Oregon pulled out the opening set, 6-4, before dominating in the second set, 6-0. Laurent's win was his fourth ranked victory of the year and his second against a top-15 opponent.

"There's really not much to say; Thomas is as good as anyone in college tennis," Schyllander said. "He's going to go down as one of the greatest players in program history, for sure. He's just so solid, there are no weaknesses in his game."

And with that win, Thomas Laurent has broken the UO single-season wins record with his 28th singles victory! Congrats, Thomas! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/VBJhh5sFM2
— Oregon Men's Tennis (@OregonMTennis) April 16, 2017

At the second singles spot, junior Akihiro Tanaka continued to spark the Oregon lineup with yet another victory to put the Ducks ahead, 3-2. Tanaka bounced back from a tough first set to defeat 120th-ranked Sameer Kumar, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

"He is probably the hardest working athlete we've ever had in the program," Schyllander said of Tanaka, "and I think it translates to how he competes."

Stanford pulled even once again with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4 by William Genesen over Oregon freshman Ty Gentry to set up the exciting finish at No. 6.

What it Means: The Ducks defeated Stanford for the third time in program history, and the third time since April 6, 2013. The win over the No. 15 team in the country ties the highest-ranked win in Oregon history; the Ducks defeated No. 15 Boise State on March 2, 2014. Oregon moves to 17-5 overall, the second-most wins in the Nils Schyllander era behind last year's 19 victories. Coming into this week ranked 23rd and then defeating the No. 15 team in the country, the Ducks now appear in very good position to secure at least a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Laurent Breaks Single-Season Wins Record: Laurent continued an absolutely tremendous sophomore season with a win over the 10th-ranked player in the country to break the UO single-season record with his 28th victory of 2016-17. The Montpellier, France, native is now 28-4 this season and 18-2 in dual matches, playing each one at the No. 1 spot. Laurent is 6-3 now this season against ranked opponents, and the win over the No. 10 player is the highest of his career. For his career, Laurent is 47-10 overall, 37-8 in dual matches and 22-2 at No. 1. This is the the second UO single-season record that Laurent has broken this year; the sophomore won his first 18 decisions to open the spring, shattering the previous record for consecutive singles matches won of 15.

Notable: Laurent and Clissold improved to 36-6 all-time together, third-most in UO history, and 21-5 this season, fourth-best in UO single-season history … Tanaka moved to 15-3 in dual matches this season as he continues to spark the Ducks as a junior transfer … Clissold improved to 12-6 in dual matches this year.

Up Next: The Ducks will close out their regular season next Saturday (2 pm) at the Student Tennis Center against Washington in what always proves to be a big-time rivalry.