The Oregon women are finally healthy after having been decimated by injuries last season, and their comeback has benefited the start of the new year.
The Ducks swept their home-opening dual matches against No. 55 Sacramento State in the morning session and Nevada later on Saturday to start the season 2-0.
Head coach Nils Schyllander said his team’s start is encouraging, but he would like to see it continue to improve.
“I am excited about the good start,” Schyllander said. “We were ready to play and beat (Sacramento State), a program on the rise.”
The highlight of the morning was the Ducks winning the top three singles-position matches and sweeping the three doubles matches. Oregon went on to defeat Sacramento State 5-2.
The doubles side was led by the duo of junior Daria Panova and senior Courtney Nagle. They defeated Sacramento State’s top two players, 45th-ranked Margarita Karnaukhova and No. 53 Anna Erikson, 8-2.
“Our doubles team established the tone and we made very few mistakes,” Schyllander said.
In other action, senior Davina Mendiburu teamed with junior Ester Bak to oust Roberta Fessenko and Cecilia Helland, 8-2. Mendiburu also won her singles match by easily handling Ann Roslund in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.
Mendiburu, after sitting out last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, is making a slow comeback. Schyllander said he thinks she will soon recover.
The French native played a key role in helping the Ducks later defeat Nevada 7-0 after dismissing Myriam Bouchlaka in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Mendiburu, who only lost a total of five games in her four matches, later teamed up with Bak again to trounce Bouchlaka and Kristen Davenport, 8-0, in doubles.
“Davina was our MVP today,” Schyllander said. “She was ready to play and looks to be back to 100 percent from her injury.”
The Oregon women will host Colorado on Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. at the Student Tennis Center.

Men take home opener
The Oregon men followed the success of the women and won the season opener against Santa Clara, 5-2, on Sunday.
The win was a team effort as each Duck contributed to the sweep of all three doubles matches and wins in four of the six singles matches.
“It was a good win for us,” head coach Chris Russell said. “I felt our doubles play was strong and it is always good to start off the dual season with a victory. We still have a lot of things to work on, but we will continue to improve.”
Oregon was led by Sven Swinnen, who played at the No. 2 dual position and defeated Santa Clara’s Erich Chen 6-2, and 6-2.
The men host Brigham Young on Jan. 29.