In an emotional and spirited dual match, the 42nd-ranked Oregon women pulled off a 5-2 upset victory over No. 18 Arizona State at the Student Tennis Center.
The win is the first against the Sun Devils at home in the program and continues the Ducks’ undefeated winning streak to start the season.
Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said he is impressed with the way his team is playing and snatching up the first game in conference play.
“(This win) is huge,” Schyllander said. “It’s the first time we beat Arizona State in front of our fans. We played great. That was total team effort.”
Oregon (7-0 overall, 1-0 Pacific-10 Conference) won two of the three doubles matches to earn the first point of the dual contest. The Ducks improved their doubles record to 18-3 for the year.
At the No. 1 position, the team of junior Daria Panova and senior Courtney Nagle led the way when they beat Lauren Colalillaand Kady Pooler 8-2.
However, the singles portion of the match established the tone for the rest of the night as the Ducks took four of the six singles contests.
Panova cemented the win for Oregon in a thrilling three-set match when she defeated Joslynn Burkett, the Sun Devils’ No. 1 player ranked 50th in the nation, 3-6, 6-4 and 6-3. Things did not look good from the start when Burkett took the first set and led the second, 2-0. Right after, Panova took two break points away to come back to win the set and won the match when Burkett hit long along the baseline in the third.
At the No. 2 position, freshman Dominika Dieskova won her sixth singles match of the season as she easily handled first-year Vana Thomas in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
“I played well,” Dieskova said. “(Thomas) was very tough. I played my game, I stayed aggressive and went to the net very often. My serve was very effective.”
In another exciting match, senior Davina Mendiburu took care of freshman Wendy Pilecka in a third-set tiebreaker 6-4, 5-7, (10-2) at the No. 4 position. Mendiburu held onto her perfect duals singles record and improved her overall record to 14-1.
“I played pretty good in the first set,” Mendiburu said. “She put more pressure on me (in the second set), but I pulled it out in the end.”
Oregon continues action when they host No. 34 Arizona Saturday at noon in the Student Tennis Center.