Women's Tennis Closes Out Regular Season in Pullman
With the postseason looming around the corner, the University of Oregon women’s tennis team travels to Washington State this weekend (Sun., noon) to close out the regular season. UO defeated WSU, 6-1, earlier this season in a non-conference match. Ranked No. 29 in a recent ITA poll, a win would give the Ducks (15-7, 2-5) a solid shot at a No. 2 seed at one of 16 regional sites.
Last Week ? The Ducks went 2-1 on their non-conference trip to California. Senior Davina Mendiburu paved the way for the Ducks, winning three matches, including a match-clinching victory against Pepperdine.
Scouting Washington State ? The Cougars (9-12, 0-6) were swept in both matches at the Arizona schools last weekend. Ekaterina Burduli is ranked No. 71 with a 13-8 overall record. Amy Toth is the only other WSU player with a .500 or better overall record at 16-14.
National Rankings ? The Ducks dropped five spots to No. 29. Stanford holds at No. 1, while USC (4), UCLA (10), Cal (21), Washington (22) and Arizona State (24) all reside in the top 25.
Individual Rankings ? For the first time in program history, three Ducks earned individual rankings according to the ITA. Panova jumped from not being ranked to No. 49, Dominika Dieskova moved up from No. 73 to No. 67, and senior Davina Mendiburu moved into the rankings (No. 81) for the first time in her career after defeating No. 28 (match-day rank) Theresa Logar of Stanford. The Ducks’ doubles team of Panova and Dieskova is ranked No. 54.
Seniors ? Panova, Mendiburu and Ester Bak will being playing in their final regular season dual match this weekend. All three seniors having combined for a 216-137 overall singles record. Panova ranks first all-time with 89 wins, followed by Mendiburu with 71 ? one shy of moving into a tie for second.
Links ? Recent team national rankings and Duck indivdual and doubles match-by-match results can be found at www.collegetennisonline.com.
