Tennis Improves But Falls To No. 11 UCLA
03/06/04 | Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Oregon women's tennis team (9-5, 2-4) showed signs of improvement as they wrapped up a brutal two-week stretch, playing four top 15 teams. The Ducks, however, were defeated by the No. 11-ranked UCLA Bruins, 6-1, on Saturday.
"They (UCLA) came out on fire in doubles," said Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander. "They will be a top-5 team by the end of the season."
Doubles play did not go the way of the Ducks as UCLA swept all three positions. The Bruins Jackie Carleton and Feriel Esseghir defeated No. 27-ranked Daria Panova and Courtney Nagle, 8-3. Freshman Dominika Dieskova and sophomore Anna Leksinska lost their match at the No. 2 spot, while Ester Bak and Davina Mendiburu were also defeated.
In singles, the lone win for the Ducks came by way of No. 7-ranked Daria Panova, who ended her four match losing streak, beating No. 13-ranked Jackie Carleton, 6-2, 7-6. The win gives Panova 22 on the year.
Senior Courtney Nagle was defeated by Feriel Esseghir, 6-4, 6-1. Nagle now drops to 7-5 in dual matches on the season. In the best matchup of the day, UCLA's No. 44-ranked Daniela Bereck, who made it to the finals of the Pac-10 Indoor Championships earlier this year, slipped by No. 46-ranked Dominika Dieskova, 3-6, 6-3, (10-7).
Position No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 all belonged to the Bruins, as Oregon's Davina Mendiburu, Jamie Marshall, and Anna Leksinska all were defeated in two sets.
"We competed really well...in every match," said Schyllander. "Some of the scores don't reflect that but we have a real positive feeling coming out of this."
The Ducks return to the friendly confines of the Student Tennis Center this weekend, when they play host to the No. 8 Washington Huskies (Fri., March 12, 1:30 p.m.) and the Washington State Cougars (Sat., March 13, 11:00 a.m.). The Ducks split their non-conference trip to Washington earlier this year, defeating WSU, 4-3, and losing to UW, 5-2.
No. 11 UCLA 6, No. 23 Oregon 1
Los Angeles, Calif.
March 6
Singles
1. (7) Daria Panova (UO) def. (13) Jackie Carleton (UCLA) 6-2, 7-6(4)
2. Feriel Esseghir (UCLA) def. Courtney Nagle (UO) 6-4, 6-1
3. (44) Daniela Bercek (UCLA) def. (46) Dominika Dieskova (UO) 3-6, 6-3, (10-7)
4. Sarah Gregg (UCLA) def. Davina Mendiburu (UO) 6-0, 6-1
5. Lauren Fisher (UCLA) def. Jamie Marshall (UO) 6-2, 6-0
6. Laura Gordon (UCLA) def. Anna Leksinska (UO) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles
1. Carleton/Esseghir (UCLA) def. (27) Nagle/Panova (UO) 8-3
2. Fisher/Gordon (UCLA) def. Dieskova/Leksinska (UO) 8-1
3. Bercek/Gregg (UCLA) def. Bak/Mendiburu (UO) 8-1
Players Mentioned
