Although the Oregon women’s team season ended in dramatic fashion at the hands of Washington this past week, junior Daria Panova’s and freshman Dominika Dieskova’s individual seasons continue at the 2004 NCAA Women’s Individual Championships at Georgia beginning today.
Panova is competing in her second consecutive NCAA Tournament and will face Middle Tennessee State’s top player, Manon Kruse, in a first-round match.
“My dream is to win this tournament and I want nothing less,” Panova said. “I need to fight hard for every ball because at this level everybody is going to want it.”
Kruse compiled a 25-5 record this season while competing in the Sun Belt Conference. The German native’s biggest victory this season was over No. 16 Aibika Kalsarieva of Kentucky, and she comes into today’s pairing with a nine-match winning streak.
Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander thinks Panova’s recent slide — which included a singles loss to Washington — will stop at the tournament.
“Daria is in very good shape and it will come down to what she does on the court and the adjustments her opponent will have to make to her game,” Schyllander said.
Panova, ranked 12th in the country, did not receive a top-16 seeding, giving her a possible second-round matchup against No. 14 Jelena Pandzic, the third seed in this tournament. Pandzic, a freshman at Fresno State, is 24-1 this season, including two wins over No. 1 Raquel Kops-Jones of California and victories over seventh-ranked Amber Liu of Stanford and ninth-ranked Agata Cioroch of Georgia.
Meanwhile, Dieskova’s first-round opponent will be fellow Pacific-10 Conference invitee and freshman Theresa Logar of Stanford.
Logar, ranked 40th in the nation, played in the No. 5 position for Stanford and compiled one of the best win-loss records in the country, going 33-3. Two of her three losses came to an Oregon player this season. Panova beat her in the Pac-10 tournament and the indoor tournament.
The left-handed Logar brings a lot of experience to the court against Dieskova. The Michigan native participated in the 2003 U.S. Open after earning an automatic berth by winning the United States Tennis Association’s 18-and-under Super Nationals.
Dieskova also has experience in the realm of tournament play. As a junior player in her native homeland of Slovakia, she won singles championships at the 16-and-under and 14-and-under levels and finished third in the Junior World Championships in 1998.
Schyllander believes Dieskova’s international experience will help her in the tournament.
“I think she is very experienced in tournament play and is very motivated to do well,” Schyllander said. “She didn’t play very well last week so I think this is going to motivate her.”
With her six-foot frame and dominating serve, Schyllander thinks Dieskova could do very well in the tournament.
“If she serves big, it will be hard for anybody to beat her,” he said.
Decision making could be key in the tournament for Dieskova.
“If I find my opponent’s weakness, make quicker decisions and become more aggressive, I think I can do well,” Dieskova said.
This year’s tournament marks the second consecutive year the Oregon women have sent two players to the event. Panova believes it helps to have at least two players in the field.
“It makes a big difference because we can practice against each other and you have a friend there all the time,” Panova said.