One winning streak continued and another one snapped over the weekend for the Oregon tennis teams.
The women knocked off their second top-35 team in three days when they beat No. 34 Arizona, 6-1, on Saturday — their eighth straight win of the dual-match season.
The Ducks (8-0 overall, 2-0 Pacific-10 Conference) have already equaled last year’s total conference wins and are now believing they may be a part of something special.
“I think it’s great to follow up the big win (against No. 18 Arizona State) the other day,” Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said. “Now we know we’re for real.”
However, the women are not caught up in admiring their undefeated record; all of their wins have occurred at home, and their first road game is this Friday.
“We take it one match at a time,” Schyllander said. “From there on out, every match is huge. We just need to worry about ourselves.”
The recurring theme of good doubles play translating into strong singles efforts carried on as the Ducks swept all three doubles matches to earn the first point of the match. Oregon’s doubles improved to a dominating 21-3 record for the season.
Sophomore Anna Leksinska sealed the win at the No. 6 position when she came back in her singles match after losing the first set. She dominated Wildcats sophomore Iza Ferreira in the third set to win, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. Leksinska said things turned around when assistant coach Kathy Sell told her to just play her game and play smart.
“I woke up (in the second set),” Leksinska said. “I have to credit my win as usual to the great coaching.”
In another notable match-up, freshman Dominika Dieskova took her singles record to 7-1 when she defeated 28th-ranked Dianne Hollands 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Hollands grew frustrated as the match progressed, and after the loss she threw her racket into the net in disgust.
“I just stepped up and put pressure on her,” Dieskova said. “(Hollands) played really well. I was smart in the end.”
The women will continue action as they embark on their first road trip of the season. They face Washington State on Friday and fifth-ranked Washington on Saturday.

Men look to start new streak
The Oregon men (6-1 overall) lost their first match of the season against No. 33 Boise State, 5-2, on Friday, However, they got back into their winning ways when they squeaked by with a 4-3 victory over Denver on Saturday.
The doubles team of junior Sven Swinnen and sophomore Arron Spencer stayed undefeated (6-0) when they defeated Denver’s Niko Popovic and Hans Peter Gaber, 8-6.
The singles portion included many emotional matches as five of the six contests went to three-setters.
“In my nine years of coaching, this was the most spirited and competitive match I have ever been a part of,” Oregon head coach Chris Russell said.
Junior Manuel Kost led the way when he moved up to the No. 2 position and overcame Gaber, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Kost protected his perfect dual singles record, which now stands at 6-0.
At the No. 1 spot, Denver’s Nejc Smole handed Swinnen his first singles loss for the year, despite Swinnen winning the first set, in a tight matchup that went 6-7, 7-6, 7-6.
The men stay on the road when they face UC-Santa Barbara on Friday and 22nd-ranked Oklahoma State on Saturday in Santa Clara, Calif.