For the past four years, senior Janice Nyland has been the heart and soul of the Oregon women’s tennis team.
Now she’s getting national recognition for it.
Nyland received the Regional ITA Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship and is one of eight finalists for the
national award.
“I was surprised,” said Nyland, an Oregon co-captain. “I try to be professional and represent the team well when I’m on the court, and to get an award for doing it is a huge honor.”
When Nyland came to Oregon in 1998, she found herself near the bottom of the lineup. She started the year playing in the No. 4 spot but eventually competed at No. 2. She finished 15-19 that year in singles.
“I was the worst player on the team, but I wanted to learn,” said Nyland, a Davis, Calif., native who has a 60-68 career singles record. “I did learn a lot, mostly how to be receptive to coaches and how to take criticism.”
Head coach Jack Griffin said Nyland’s attitude and work ethic make his job easier.
“She has high expectations for her coaches, herself and her teammates,” Griffin said. “She pushes us all to do better, which makes us a better team.”
Nyland’s teammates said they appreciate the sometimes-brutal honesty she brings to the team.
“She’s very opinionated, and she’ll tell you how it is,” sophomore Courtney Nagle said. “It’s one thing to hear it from a coach, but hearing it from a player, it really reaches you in a different way. It means more coming from a peer.”
Nyland’s most significant performance this year came at home against Washington. The Ducks, riding a two-year winless streak in the Pacific-10 Conference at the time, and the Huskies were tied 3-3 with Nyland’s match left unfinished. Down 5-4 in the third set, she battled back to win 7-6 and give Oregon the emotional win.
“That match against Washington signified Janice as a player,” Griffin said. “She is a strong leader.”
Leadership and teamwork are aspects of tennis that Nyland, who is majoring in biology and computer science, said she will take into the professional world. With another year of school left, she is searching for a summer internship.
“The NCAA doesn’t allow us to work, so I’m behind in job experience,” said Nyland, who would like to work as a software designer or bio-technologist. “But I will take many important things from tennis into my career, like teamwork, communication and being goal-oriented.”
On Saturday, Nyland will take these qualities into the
third NCAA Tournament of her career. She has a 1-2 career record in the tournament, beating South Florida’s Genevieve Houle her freshman year.
The team, which has won six of its past seven matches heading into the tournament, has been stressing doubles in practice.
“We are again changing things up in our doubles lineup, trying to find the right doubles teams,” Griffin said. “We can’t continue to lose the doubles point and expect to beat the good teams.”
The No. 39 Ducks will face No. 18 UNLV in the first round in Los Angeles. USC is hosting the regional and could face Oregon if both win in the first round. But Oregon assistant coach Nils Schyllander said the team needs to focus on beating the Rebels.
“UNLV is a very good team, especially at home,” Schyllander said. “But fortunately we get them on courts we know.”
UNLV head coach Kevin Cory is a former Duck. Cory was a four-year letterman at Oregon, playing No. 1 singles and doubles his senior year. He graduated in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management.
The former Roseburg High coach led UNLV to a 20-3 overall record this year, including 11 wins against ranked opponents.
Even though this tournament is her final chance to compete for the Ducks, Nyland isn’t changing her goals.
“If we go out there and compete hard, then the results are secondary,” Nyland said. “But it would be great to win and to get another shot at USC.”