Anna Leksinska was one of three Ducks on the Oregon women’s tennis team who went undefeated over the weekend at the Wailea Classic in Maui, Hawaii.
Despite her 4-0 singles record in the Ducks’ final preseason tuneup, as far as senior Leksinska is concerned, it’s really all about the team.
“My personal goal is to make this team as good as it possibly can be,” Leksinska said.
As a team, the Ducks won a staggering 30 matches throughout the three-day individual style tournament.
“We definitely won the most matches by far,” Oregon coach Nils Schyllander said. “I was very pleased with our play.”
Junior Dominika Dieskova and sophomore Anna Powaska also posted perfect records in both the singles and doubles categories. Including Leksinska, all three players went 4-0 and 3-0 in singles and doubles, respectively.
“I couldn’t help but win in the sunshine,” Leksinska said. “You really can’t help but win when the weather’s so beautiful.”
Leksinska exorcised some personal demons in the Hawaii sunshine when she played Sacramento State’s Karina Jarlkagnova 6-0, 6-3 Sunday.
“Anna is playing the best tennis she’s played over the last four years,” Schyllander said. “The fact that she beat Jarlkagnova 6-0, 6-3 after she lost to her the last time they played in the fall shows me just how much hard work Anna’s put in.”
Powaska also had a fulfilling tournament. She took revenge over Washington’s Tara Simpson, registering an emphatic 6-0, 6-4 victory.
Prior to their encounter in the Wailea Classic, Powaska had lost to Simpson at the Husky Invitational last fall.
“The match against Tara Simpson was definitely the most challenging because I had lost to her before,” said Powaska. “This time, I had a lot to prove. I did everything I could to win, and I was trying to win every point.”
The sophomore is back to form after her freshman season was cut short by a stress fracture in her foot that severely limited her playing time.
“Anna had an amazing weekend. She didn’t drop a singles match all week,” said Schyllander.
Schyllander believes the team’s level of play is rising.
“Right now we’re all on the same page and we’re really excited about starting the season,” he said. “At this point in the year, we’re a couple of steps ahead of where I thought we’d be. As young as we are, we’re pretty far along in terms of both our tennis and our conditioning.”
Schyllander also thinks that in spite of the players’ collective youth, this year’s team is surprisingly strong.
“As young as we are, this is probably the deepest team we’ve ever had talent-wise,” he said. “We’re young and there are going to be some bumps in the road. But we have great senior leadership, and we’re hoping to be in the postseason, and to compete for a spot in the Sweet 16.”
Leksinska, one of the team’s two captains, has also taken an active role in mentoring the first-year players. And she shares her coach’s confidence in this year’s crop of freshmen.
“Our freshmen coming in are all actually very experienced on the junior circuit. With the senior leadership that we have, it’s all going to come together,” said Leksinska. “We’re all part of a very special team. When we play, we’re always supporting each other.”
Leksinska thinks that the Ducks’ team spirit is part of the team’s success.
“You can always hear someone yelling ‘Go Ducks!’ when you’re on court in the middle of a match,” she said. “That’s how we bring home the wins. We’re the loudest, we have the most fun, and we want to go to the Sweet 16. It’s my senior season and we’ve never been there before as the Oregon tennis team. We will take no less!”