Under the tutelage of first-year head coach Paul Reber, the Oregon women’s tennis team will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the Freeman Memorial Women’s Tennis Championships at UNLV.
The individual tournament features players from teams ranked in the nation’s top 50. The Ducks, ranked 42nd, will be up against players from top-ranked Stanford, No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 15 UCLA, and No. 23 Arizona State.
The Ducks’ No.1 doubles team of senior Dominika Dieskova and sophomore Ceci Olivos are seeded third in the doubles draw. Dieskova is also ranked 26th in singles play.
“The last tournament the girls played was our Duck Classic back in November,” Reber said. “So this was just a tournament to play to get some matches under our belts before we start our dual matches Jan. 20.”
Both of Oregon’s tennis teams enter this season under a change of leadership. Following the departure of former men’s coach Kevin Kowalik at the end of last season, Nils Schyllander, then coach of the women’s team, was promoted to Director of Tennis.
Schyllander subsequently took on coaching responsibilities of the men’s program, and Reber was hired to head the women’s team.
It’s still early in the season, but so far Reber and the team have taken to each other very well.
“Paul’s made a lot of technical changes, and he focuses a lot on the little things,” sophomore Carmen Seremeta said.
Seremeta said the transition from Schyllander to Reber was smooth.
“All the girls really like both of them,” Schyllander said. “We love Nils, we love Paul. We don’t see Nils as much, but he’s still around, and now we have Paul too. So it’s kind of the best of both worlds.”
Schyllander and Reber also work well together partly because of their long-standing relationship.
“Paul and I go way back,” Schyllander said. “We played college at the same time in the state of Arizona, and then we coached together in the (Pacific-10 Conference). He’s been in the Pac-10 for 10 years, I’ve been in the Pac-10 for eight years.”
Schyllander spent his collegiate career at Northern Arizona, while Reber played for Arizona State, where he later became the assistant coach of the Arizona State women’s tennis team.
In his 10-year coaching career, Reber says he’s seen some pretty tight-knit teams. Yet, he thinks the Oregon women are one of the most cohesive teams he’s ever been around.
“There was always a difference with the Oregon teams,” Reber said. “‘Teamy’ is the word I like to use for this team. They’re so close and together, in everything they do. So it’s great. That’s part of the fun of coaching too, having a group that works that well together and likes being around each other.”
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