No. 22 Women's Tennis Hosts No. 4 USC and No. 13 UCLA in Home Finale
The stingy schedule continues for the No. 22-ranked University of Oregon women’s tennis team (13-4, 2-3) as it hosts No. 4 USC (Fri., 1:30 p.m.) and No. 13 UCLA (Sat., noon) at the Student Tennis Center this weekend. After defeating No. 16 Washington last week, UO moved up three spots in the rankings to No. 22 ? tying its highest ranking ever. The Ducks boast three players with 12 dual wins apiece and a 34-17 team mark in doubles dual play.
Last Week ? The Ducks defeated No. 16 Washington ? its highest ranked opponent ever. Daria Panova upset No. 9 Dea Sumantri in the win. UO then lost a tough 4-3 match to Cal, followed by a 6-1 loss to defending national champ and No. 1 Stanford. Davina Mendiburu picked up two wins against the Bay Area schools.
Scouting #4 USC ? The Women of Troy are 13-1, 4-0, with a lone loss to No. 1 Stanford. USC has two top-ranked freshmen ? No. 11 Nicole Leimbach (24-8 overall) and No. 10 Lindsey Nelson (25-5). USC’s squad features only one upperclassman.
Scouting #13 UCLA ? The Bruins are 11-4, 4-2 and winners of their last five. UCLA has three ranked players ? No. 18 Rita Zalameda, No. 32 Daniela Bercek and No. 85 Laura Gordon. Zalameda and Bercek are ranked No. 3 in doubles.
National Rankings ? The Ducks moved up three spots to No. 22, tying their highest ranking ever. Stanford holds at No. 1, while USC (3), UCLA (13), Cal (17) and Washington (19) all reside in the top 25.
Records ? Mendiburu currently sits third all-time with 68 career singles wins. Mendiburu and senior Ester Bak rank second all-time with 33 career doubles wins. The tandems of Mendiburu/Bak (17-6) and Panova/Dominika Dieskova (18-7) look destine to stake their claim on the single season doubles mark. Both squads are already well into the top-10.
Links ? Team, singles and doubles rankings can be found at www.collegetennisonline.com.
Live Scoring ? Both matches this weekend can be followed via live scoring at www.GoDucks.com.
