From the football team to the men’s basketball team, Oregon has had incredible post-season success this year, and it continued over the weekend with the women’s tennis team.
The No. 39 Ducks upset No. 18 UNLV Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before losing Sunday to No. 11 USC in the second round.
Against the Rebels, Oregon won the doubles point and three singles matches for a 4-2 victory.
No. 88 freshman Daria Panova beat UNLV’s No. 102 Paulina Janus, 6-4, 6-1, at the No. 1 spot. Sophomores Davina Mendiburu and Courtney Nagle won at the bottom two spots in the lineup to give the Ducks the victory.
Senior Janice Nyland’s match was suspended because the Ducks accumulated the four points before her match ended. Junior Monika Gieczys lost in straight sets, and senior Vickie Gunnarsson lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
“It was the best match we’ve ever played, and it was really perfect timing,” head coach Jack Griffin said. “It was a lot of fun and they fought through a lot of adversity. It was a great atmosphere. They just want to make this year even more and more special and they’re doing a good job of it.”
The win was Oregon’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 1999, when the Ducks beat South Florida in the first round.
Against USC, the Ducks struggled early in doubles and were not able to upset the Trojans’ top two doubles teams. Nagle and Mendiburu lost, 8-5, to No. 6 Tiffany Brymer and Jewel Peterson. Nyland and Panova lost, 8-4, to No. 31 Anita Loyola and Luana Magnani.
In singles, Panova lost, 6-3, 6-4, to No. 8 Peterson in the top spot.
Gieczys and Mendiburu lost their matches to give USC the win.
Gunnarsson won the first set of her match before it was suspended. Nyland and Nagle’s matches were also suspended because they had no effect on the outcome of the match.
The loss ends Oregon’s turnaround season. On March 9, Oregon lost to UCLA, had a 7-9 overall record and were winless in the Pac-10 Conference.
The Ducks, behind newcomer Panova, then won six out of seven matches, including over Washington for their first Pac-10 win in more than two years, to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
“I was really happy with the way we fought,” Griffin said. “One of our goals this season was to gain some respect, and I think we’ve done that.”
Peter Martini is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.