Panova Goes for Four as Women Head to Pac-10 Championships
WHAT'S UP
Chasing Another Title - Reigning 2003 Pac-10 outdoor champ, Daria Panova, will attempt to win her fourth (2003 & 2004 indoor, 2003 outdoor) Pac-10 individual title.
More Records - Anna Leksinska and Dominika Dieskova moved into a tie for third (18 wins) on the single-season doubles chart with last year’s duo of Panova and Courtney Nagle.
Vast Improvement - The Ducks surpassed last year’s overall singles (126-89), dual singles (82-62), overall doubles (59-36) and dual doubles (47-25) records.
Top Team - Oregon’s sixth place and 16 wins marked its best Pac-10 performance since the conference merged in 1997. The Ducks 16 wins is the 4th-best win output in program history.
LAST WEEK
Long Beach State - The Ducks lost the doubles portion but picked four singles wins to defeat Long Beach State, 4-3. Ester Bak provided the clinching point. No. 69 Dominika Dieskova won her 19th match of the year.
Pepperdine - Oregon finished out the regular season with its fourth, 4-3, victory in a row. No. 10 Daria Panova and Anna Leksinska rebounded after losses to LBSU and picked up singles victories. Junior Davina Mendiburu picked up the clinching match point and her 17th win of the season.
WOMEN’S PAC-10 TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Pacific 10 Conference Championships - The Pac-10’s nine women’s teams head to Ojai, Calif., Thurs., April 22 through Sun., April 25, to decide the league’s singles and doubles champions. For the women, the 32-player singles draw shall consist of three players from each of the nine schools that sponsor women’s tennis, with five additional competitors selected by a committee of coaches, based upon the participants record. The 16-team doubles draw will have one doubles team from each school and seven additional teams selected by the committee, based upon the participants record.
What & Where - Pac-10 competition will be held in conjunction with the 104th Annual Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. The Pac-10 women will play at the Ojai Valley Inn Tennis Center Thurs., April 22, and at Libbey Park on Fri., April 23. All semifinal and final matches on Sat., April 24, and Sun., April 25, are at Libbey Park. Matches begin at 8 a.m., with two rounds of singles on opening day. One round of singles and two rounds of doubles will be played on Friday. Semifinals and finals will be held at a time yet to be determined.
Ojai History - The Ojai, as it is known in tennis circles, is the oldest amateur tennis tournament in the United States and has been interrupted only five years since its inception - in 1924 by hoof and mouth disease and four years during World War II. Pac-10 schools have competed in intercollegiate events in 92 of The Ojai’s 102 tournaments beginning in 1911. Championship medals are awarded in both singles and doubles and the winner’s names are inscribed on permanent trophies displayed each year at the tournament. Last year’s singles winner was Oregon’s Daria Panova. Doubles winner was Cal’s Christina Fusano and Raquel Kops-Jones.
