Three Ducks Receive NCAA Individual Championship Berths
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. ? The NCAA Division I women’s and men’s selection committees selected the field for the NCAA individual Championships Thursday. Among those selected were singles players Daria Panova and Dominika Dieskova from the women’s team and Sven Swinnen from the men.
On the women’s side, No. 12-ranked Panova is making her second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, having reached the Sweet 16 last season, before losing to USC’s Jewel Peterson, 6-2, 6-3. The junior from Moscow, Russia, is 31-12 on the season.
No. 71 Dieskova becomes the first freshman in program history to make the NCAA Championships. The Slovakia native is 20-14 on the season, while being ranked among the top 75 players in the country by the ITA for most of the season.
"I am so happy for both Daria and Dominika," head coach Nils Schyllander said. "Dominika has worked very hard this season and to make it as a freshman is a huge accomplishment."
The men will be represented by Swinnen, who is making his first postseason appearance. The Switzerland native posted a 22-8 record while jumping from a ranking of No. 92 earlier this season to No. 16 in the latest ITA poll.
"Sven had a tremendous season," head coach Chris Russell said. "He beat some of the top players in the country and was a big part of our success."
Junior Manuel Kost received a bid as an alternate singles player. No. 66 Kost went 18-10 on the year and will be looking for his second championship appearance in as many years. Last season, senior Courtney Nagle, from the women’s team, was named an alternate and ended up receiving a berth.
The women’s individual tournament will take place May 24-29, in Athens, Ga., while the men’s tourney will be May 26-31, in Tulsa, Okla.
Yesterday both teams received berths into the NCAA Team Championships. The men will head to Oxford, Miss., to take on No. 22 Vanderbilt (Sat., May 15, Noon PST), while the women will head north to Seattle, Wash., to take on No. 31 New Mexico (Sat., May 15, 10 a.m. PST).
