For the first time in her four-year
career, Daria Panova dropped from the national singles rankings last week.
Panova, ranked as high as No. 8 to begin the season, still holds a
respectable 8-2 singles record for the Ducks (9-2 overall, 1-1 Pacific-10
Conference) entering their dual match against Boise State (3-3) at noon
Saturday at the Student Tennis Center.
Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said he is not at all disappointed that his No. 1 player in the lineup is now unranked, because “she’s got nothing left to prove.” Panova is Oregon’s leader in season and career victories and also has captured three Pac-10
singles titles.
“She’s one of the best players in the country; she knows it, and I know it,” he said. “She just needs to get on a roll and get some good wins, and she’ll be back where she needs to be.”
The Oregon women, as a team, are also looking to bounce back after getting a split against the Arizona schools. The Ducks suffered a 7-0 shutout loss to No. 27 Arizona State on Saturday, which was the first shutout of the Ducks since Feb. 28, 2004.
“Arizona State is one of the top teams in the country,” Schyllander said. “Their ranking doesn’t reflect that yet, but they’re a good, solid team.”
Schyllander added his team’s
confidence hasn’t wavered as it had several chances to get some points against the Sun Devils. Four of the six singles matches involved tiebreakers and close sets ending 7-5.
“The score might not reflect that, but we were in every single singles match and there was opportunities to be had,” Schyllander said.
In this weekend’s matchup against unranked Boise State, Schyllander
and the Oregon players used the
word “dangerous” to describe their
opponent. Last season, the Ducks handed the Broncos a 6-1 loss.
“They’re pretty much dangerous
in every spot (in the lineup),”
Schyllander said. “They’re a team that if you’re a little bit off, they can pull off the upset.”
Senior Davina Mendiburu said her team is confident about returning home to Eugene to play. So far this
season, Oregon has a 6-1 home record with the only loss coming to No. 8 Washington on Feb. 12.
“Boise State is very dangerous,” Mendiburu said. “They’re very talented and we’re all going to have to show up and play our best, because if we’re a little off, they can be very dangerous.”
The Broncos are coming off a
5-2 loss to Denver at home —
they were defeated in four of the six singles matches.