Oregon fifth-year senior Davina Mendiburu remains undefeated this season after capturing the Flight II singles title at the Pacific-10 Conference Indoor Championships on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Mendiburu, who has a 7-0 overall record, defeated No. 1 seed Anne Yelsey of Stanford in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 to win the championship. Mendiburu dominated her opponents by winning all three of her matches in straight sets.
“This is as good as I have seen Davina play,” Oregon women’s tennis head coach Nils Schyllander said. “Every shot was falling for her against some
quality opponents.”
The Ducks had a chance to capture three more titles — a singles title and two doubles titles — but they fell short each time.
In the Flight III singles finals, junior Jamie Marshall was defeated by Arizona’s Kasia Jakowiew in a tough three-set match, 3-6, 7-6 and 6-2.
In the Flight I doubles finals, the No. 45-ranked duo Daria Panova and Dominika Dieskova lost to seventh-ranked Alice Barnes and Erin Burdette of Stanford, 8-6.
In the Flight II doubles finals, senior Ester Bak and Mendiburu were defeated by Stephanie Balzert and Kelly Perry of
Arizona, 8-4.
Despite the defeats, Schyllander said he was impressed with his team’s effort and play before the regular season begins
this weekend.
“Overall, I am very pleased with the way the team competed,” Schyllander said. “This was a tremendous opportunity to prepare for the dual season. We are excited to get home and play some dual matches.”
The Ducks will begin their dual season on Friday when they host Portland at
10 a.m. and Utah at 6:30 p.m. They will also play Sunday against UC Irvine at
10 a.m. All games will be played at the
Student Tennis Center.
Oregon men go
1-1 in Hawaii
The Oregon men’s tennis team ended its trip to Honolulu with a 1-1 record to begin non-conference play.
After dominating Hawaii in a 7-0 victory last Friday, the Ducks took a step back when they lost to Florida State 5-2 on Saturday.
Oregon men’s head coach Kevin Kowalik said the heat and humidity in Hawaii had an effect on his players, but he felt encouraged with the overall results.
“We need to improve on some things, but without a doubt we are moving in the right direction,” Kowalik said.
Alex Tam is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald