Five matches into the season, the No. 23 Oregon women’s tennis team is 5-0, in spite of its youth – half the players on its roster are underclassmen. The men’s team has had similar success, with a 5-1 record and a No. 75 ranking.
But for juniors Monica Hoz de Vila and Vlad Pino, this season hasn’t been an easy one so far. Despite their relative seniority, both Hoz de Vila and Pino have only started one match apiece for their respective teams this season.
Pino broke into the men’s lineup last weekend, playing No. 6 singles in Oregon’s loss to Lousiana-Lafayette, while Hoz de Vila moved into the women’s starting lineup after senior Anna Leksinska got a concussion and could not play against Washington State last Saturday.
Hoz de Vila played both singles and doubles against the Cougars.
The Bolivian native joined the Ducks in 2003 with a string of accolades already under her belt. She was a member of the Bolivian Federation Cup team in 2003 and 2004 and was the top-ranked under-18 player in Bolivia before she began her collegiate career.
Since her freshman year, however, Hoz de Vila has a combined 5-7 singles record in dual play and has seen very limited on-court action so far.
“I haven’t really played as much as I would have liked,” Hoz de Vila said. “When I first got here, I did think that I was good enough, and that I was going to get to play. But I guess my consistency’s been a problem.”
Pino has had an entirely different problem. The Swedish national saw substantial playing time his sophomore year. He posted a 9-13 dual match singles record and went 7-10 in doubles.
This year Pino found himself in an early season slump.
“At first I had a really bad time,” Pino said. “It was hard for me not being at the level that I know I can compete at. It was a hard start, I wasn’t playing well, and the bottom line is that either you work harder or you just give up. Lately I’ve been working my ass off so I’m hoping I’ll start to play more and just prove myself in my matches.”
Leksinska, one of Hoz de Vila’s close friends on the team, empathizes with her teammate’s situation.
“I know exactly what it feels like to be on the court, but not hear your name in the lineup,” she said. “In my freshman year, I was in the same position as Hozzie. I wasn’t playing much, but what’s great about our team is that whether you’re playing or not, I felt like I was contributing off the court too. You feel like you contributed that day if you’re loud and if you’re supportive, and if you’re there for your teammates when they look to you for support.”
Hoz de Vila also talked about the catch-22 that all second-stringers face in their battle to break into the starting lineup; players need match experience to be able to perform well in matches, but they need to play in matches to get that experience.
“I think I could definitely improve,” Hoz de Vila said. “But I need to play more matches to get to play better.”
Pino is trying to overcome the same conundrum.
“I did feel like I was just kinda thrown into things last weekend,” Pino said. “But I think I played all right. I wasn’t completely out of match shape, but I definitely could have used (some playing time in) the first four matches.”
Women’s coach Nils Schyllander thinks Hoz de Vila fell behind the rest of the team largely because she injured her foot in the preseason, which kept her from getting the match experience that she needed.
“Monica was one of our better practice players in the fall,” Schyllander said. “But she’s just been very unlucky. She got injured and couldn’t play in the Boise tournament and the Husky Invitational, and other people stepped up and took their opportunities and played well in those events.
“She didn’t get the important match play that they did, and she didn’t get the opportunity to showcase what she could do.”
Both Hoz de Vila and her coach agree that her other problem lies in the psychological element of her game.
“Monica just needs to believe in herself and her abilities, because when she does, she’s very athletic and can compete at a very high level,” Schyllander said.
“I think I just have to believe more in myself and try to play through all my matches at the same high level,” Hoz de Vila said.
Pino on the other hand, is still trying to find his own rhythm.
“I think he’s had problems finding his style,” said Thomas Bieri, a senior on the team and Pino’s roommate.
“It’s pretty crucial in tennis that you find your game style. Our old coach tried to get Vlad to play a certain way that I don’t think was necessarily the best for him,” Bieri said. “Vlad’s a talented player and a good athlete, he just has to get into match shape and find his own style.”
College tennis is the only arena in which tennis is a team sport, and Pino says the competition to secure starting spots can get pretty rough. But he and Hoz de Vila agree that at times, the team element helps.
“The guys on the team really pulled me up when I was in my rut,” Pino said. “They really got me going. They asked me what was going on and gave me a lot of advice on how to improve my game.” Hoz de Vila agreed about the importance of the support.
“I feel really close to these girls,” she said. “They’re like my second family. We all support each other all the time and I definitely feel like I’m still a part of this team.”
Leksinska says she has her teammate’s back.
“Hozzie’s as much a part of this team as anyone else. We don’t make any distinctions between who plays and who doesn’t,” she said. “And we need her. Not many schools at this level have a No. 7 player on their roster who’s as good as she is. We’re just lucky to have her.”
Both the women’s and men’s teams jump back into action this weekend. The women play at home against Colorado and Pacific, while Pino and the men head to Santa Barbara.