Daria Panova has been to the annual Pacific-10 Conference Indoor Championships before and knows what to expect this weekend.
The senior will attempt to win her fourth Pac-10 singles title at the three-day tournament held at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle beginning Friday.
Panova, who has won three of the past four Pac-10 singles titles, said the desire
to win is crucial to capturing this
weekend’s tournament.
“It’s just the will,” she said. “I just wanted to win. I think I wanted it more because the Pac-10 is the best conference in tennis.”
Panova, finishing up her career at Oregon, added that she has bigger goals in mind for herself, one of which includes being victorious at the only tournament she’s never won — the NCAA Championships that starts in late May.
“I used to look at Pac-10s as, ‘OK, I need to show that I can play,” Panova said. “But right now it’s more like preparation for the season.”
Injuries have taken their toll on the Ducks’ leader the past four seasons. At last season’s Pac-10 Indoors, Panova won the singles title despite battling injuries to her upper back and left index finger. Not even Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander knew whether she was going to compete at the time.
But right now, Panova said she feels the best she has in a long time.
“I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been,” she said. “Every time I’ve won something (though), I was hurting.”
Schyllander said he believes his star player should be the favorite this weekend.
“She doesn’t have to prove anything,” he said. “We know she’s going to go out and have a chance to beat anyone. Three of four titles. There’s not many people who have done what she’s done already.”
Panova said one of her biggest competitors is freshman Nicole Leimbach of USC. Leimbach defeated Panova in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-1, in the first round of the ITA
National Indoor Championships
in November.
“I really want to beat her (this time),” Panova said.
Another Duck who has a promising chance at succeeding this
weekend is sophomore Dominika Dieskova. Last season, Dieskova
finished with a 20-17 overall
record and was ranked as high as No. 51 nationally.
“I feel prepared and ready to start the new season,” Dieskova said. “I was working out pretty hard in the fall.”
Schyllander said his second-year player is “one of the best and most improved players in the country” this season.
“She took huge strides in the fall and she’s really coming into her style of game and wanting to play and has bought into it,” Schyllander said. “Any given day, she can beat any given player.”
Men kick off 2005
campaign in Hawaii
The Oregon men’s tennis team will begin its first season under new head coach Kevin Kowalik when it battles Hawaii and Florida State this weekend in Honolulu.
Kowalik said he is “extremely excited” about taking over the Oregon program after former head coach Chris Russell left to become associate head coach at Washington
in September.
“The team had a lot of highs and lows last season but is ready to compete and win in an excellent Pac-10 Conference,” Kowalik said.

Alex Tam is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald