The Oregon women’s tennis team claimed bragging rights over the Washington Huskies this weekend at the 2005 Husky Invitational in Seattle.
Led by standouts Dominika Dieskova and Anna Leksinska, the Ducks swept all three titles in their final event of the fall season.
Both Dieskova and Leksinska were given first round byes, after which they proceeded to decimate their opponents. Top-seeded Dieskova easily defeated Washington’s Saskia Neunberg – 7-6, 6-0 in the second round – before making short work of fourth-seed Husky Tara Simpson (6-2, 6-2) to claim a place in the Flight I singles final.
In the final, Dieskova dominated Washington’s Dinka Hadzic, winning 6-4, 6-2, despite Hadzic being ranked No. 66 to Dieskova’s No. 70 in the preseason individual rankings.
“Dominika looked good today,” women’s tennis coach Nils Schyllander said. “She was aggressive and very sharp. She really took it to another level.”
Leksinska saw similar success over the weekend. After her first round bye, she registered an impressive shutout against Boise State’s Carolyn Berry, 6-0, 6-0. Leksinska then went on to take out Berry’s teammate, Tiffany Coll, beating her 6-3, 7-5 and earning a spot in the Flight II Final.
Leksinska overcame two previous defeats against Washington’s Allison Rainey in the final, taking down Rainey 6-2, 6-2 to claim the title.
“Anna played so well today,” Schyllander said. “She looked solid all day long.”
Oregon later claimed its third title of the weekend in the doubles flight when Dieskova and true freshman Ceci Olivos pulled out an 8-2 victory over the Washington doubles team of Hadzic and Simpson.
In a different time zone, Arron Spencer, Thomas Bieri and Markus Schiller – the three seniors on the Ducks men’s tennis team – spent their weekend competing at the USTA Honolulu Futures tournament in Hawaii.
“The Honolulu Futures tournament is a pro event where the players get ranking points to help them out with their careers,” said men’s tennis coach Kevin Kowalik, who explained that the results of the tournament do not really factor into the Ducks’ team rankings.
The week-long tournament is more of an opportunity for the players to get experience in a professional event.
After three rounds of weekend qualifying play, only one Duck remains in the tournament. The German-born Schiller advanced to the main draw Monday afternoon after his third-round victory over Bijan Hijazi of the United States (6-3, 7-6).
“Markus played really well today,” assistant coach Armando Espinoza said. “He was up against someone who was just bombing his serves, and Markus fought to stay focused and stay in the match.”
Schiller’s teammates Bieri and Spencer were both eliminated after first-round defeats over the weekend. Bieri fell 6-3, 6-4 to Jaak Poldma of Estonia, while Spencer was defeated by Croatian Nikola Aracic, 7-6, 2-6, 6-4.
“It’s a very difficult tournament,” Kowalik said. “I only send guys who have earned it and who have the opportunity to do well.
“I think our performance at the tournament this year is on par with last year’s performance.”
Schiller will next pair off with former Duck tennis star Sven Swinnen to compete in the doubles category today. Schiller is also scheduled to play in his first round match of the main draw on Wednesday.