Sophomore tennis player Monika Geiczys got her 2000-01 season off to a busy start.
Geiczys plans to play her first ten matches of the season in a period of one week in the land of tennis — Southern California.
After placing third in her flight at the San Diego State Fall Classic on Sunday, Geiczys made the 130-mile trip north to Pacific Palisades for the Riviera All-American tournament.
The prestigious tournament is the second stage of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Grand Slam, along with the T. Rowe National Clay Court Championships and the USTA Indoor Team Championships.
Geiczys, Oregon’s No. 1 player, was invited to the tournament as one of the nation’s top-75 returning Division I players in the nation. The native of Sopot, Poland, was Oregon’s No. 2 player last year behind fellow Polish player Alina Wygonowska, who graduated last spring.
Last season, Geiczys broke into the Oregon record books with her 14-9 dual match record. Her winning percentage was the best ever by an Oregon freshman and her total of 14 Division I wins was good enough for fourth place on the single season win list.
On Tuesday, Geiczys split her two matches in the qualifying round. In the first round, Geiczys fell in straight sets to Southern Methodists’ Dee Dee Herring, 6-3, 6-2.
Geiczys rebounded in the back draw of the tournament, defeating Charlotte Vernaz of Pepperdine, 6-1, 6-4.
“She had a real good second match,” head coach Jack Griffin said. “She didn’t play her best at first, but she learned from it. A lot of good players are here, so any time you’re winning matches, it’s good.”
Geiczys was the only Duck to participate in the prestigious tournament.
On Wednesday, Geiczys took on Stanford’s No. 56-ranked Lauren Barnikow. The freshman from Woodbridge, N.J., is a top-ranked junior player and is Stanford’s No. 5 player.
Stanford’s top-ranked Laura Granville is the favorite to win the competition. The defending NCAA champion should also get a challenge from Georgia’s Aarthi Venkatesan and UCLA’s Sara Walker.
Results from Wednesday’s competition were unavailable at press time. The All-American tournament lasts until Sunday and has pushed Geiczys’ overall season record up to 3-2.
Up next for the Ducks is the Stanford Rolex Regional Tournament in Palo Alto, Calif., on Oct. 28.
The Pacific-10 Conference dual match season begins Jan. 19 at home against California.