University of Washington
Oregon
Fifth-Ranked Women's Tennis Downs Ducks, 5-2
February 21, 2004 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 21, 2004
SEATTLE, Wash. - Clutch singles play was the story for the fifth-ranked Washington women's tennis team (7-1) who held off the Oregon Ducks, 5-2, in a nonconference dual at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center. The Huskies took the first through fifth singles spots, including a three-set win from senior Claire Carter over 8th-ranked Daria Panova of Oregon, as Washington saddled the 42nd-ranked Ducks with their first loss of the year.
The match was closer than the score might indicate. Washington led 3-2 but Carter was locked in a tight second set with Panova and freshman Saskia Nauenberg (Santa Cruz, Calif.) was heading to a third set with Oregon's Jamie Marshall. Nauenberg, ranked 90th, helped to ease the tension by racing out to a 5-1 lead in the third set. Marshall double faulted on match point to clinch the match for UW and send players and spectators back to watch the featured matchup between Carter and Panova.
The last time Panova had stepped on the court at the Nordstrom Tennis Center was at the Pac-10 Indoor Champioships where she won the title for the second consecutive year. The 35th-ranked Carter (Nottingham, England) made sure this trip would not be as sweet as she played some of her best tennis in upsetting the top-ten opponent. The contrast in styles was compelling as Panova hit fierce groundstrokes while Carter sliced away with her backhand to move Panova around the court and force errors. Since Washington had just decided the outcome with Nauenberg's win, the match went to a third-set super-tiebreak to settle things. Carter took the lead 4-1 before Panova seized the next four points to take a 5-4 lead and the normally quiet Carter screamed in disgust. Whether thanks to the scream or not, Panova would not win another point as Carter raised her game to another level, pressuring the fatigued Panova into an increasing number of errors, and Carter ran away with the final six points and the victory.
The women picked up a string of easy victories at two, three, and four singles to take a 3-1 lead after being swept in the doubles point. 49th-ranked junior Dea Sumantri (Jakarta, Indonesia) remained unbeaten in dual play as she took out Courtney Nagle 6-0, 6-4 for her seventh straight win. Senior Erin Hoe (Mililiani, Hawaii) and sophomore Dinka Hadzic (Split, Croatia) followed soon after with their own straight set wins at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
Next week the women head east to Illinois for a pair of very difficult road matches. Evanston, Illinois is the first stop to battle No. 24 Illinois, Friday, Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m. CT followed by a top-ten showdown with No. 7 Northwestern on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. CT, at Urbana, Illinois.
Washington Women's Tennis vs. Oregon
February 21, 2004 - Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center
No. 5 Washington 5, No. 42 Oregon 2
Doubles
1. (18) Nagle/Panova (Ore.) def. (29) Carter/Sumantri (UW) 8-4
2. Dieskova/Leksinska (Ore.) def. Hadzic/Nauenberg (UW) 8-7 (4)
3. Mendiburu/Bak (Ore.) def. Hoe/Kolbovic (UW) 8-3
Singles
1. (35) Claire Carter (UW) def. (8) Daria Panova (Ore.) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (5)
2. (49) Dea Sumantri (UW) def. Courtney Nagle (Ore.) 6-0, 6-4
3. Erin Hoe (UW) def. Dominika Dieskova (Ore.) 6-2, 6-4
4. Dinka Hadzic (UW) def. Davina Mendiburu (Ore.) 6-2, 6-0
5. (90) Saskia Nauenberg (UW) def. Jamie Marshall (Ore.) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
6. Ester Bak (Ore.) def. Monika Kolbovic (UW) 6-2, 7-5
