A weekend to remember.Byline: Chris Hansen <noinclude></noinclude> Christopher Edward Hansen (born March 26, 1959) is an American television journalist best known for his work on the Dateline NBC television segment To Catch a Predator. The Register-Guard It was a weekend second to none for a women's tennis player in the history of the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. program. On March 31, Dominika Dieskova, the Ducks' No. 1 singles player, defeated Stanford's Amber Liu, a two-time NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association individual champion, in resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. fashion, 6-2, 6-2. One day later, Dieskova beat then-10th ranked Suzie Fodor of California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). 6-4, 6-7, 10-6 to improve to 7-0 in the Pac-10. Those two wins earned Dieskova (30-9) conference player of the week honors and bumped her national ranking from 50th to 30th. "We always knew she was very good, but for her it validated val·i·date tr.v. val·i·dat·ed, val·i·dat·ing, val·i·dates 1. To declare or make legally valid. 2. To mark with an indication of official sanction. 3. that she can beat anyone," UO coach Nils Schyllander said. "The challenge is to be able to do that four or five matches in a row." The 21-year-old junior from Slovakia has struggled in that regard, dropping three straight matches since her win against Fodor. Those losses came on the road this past weekend against Loyola Marymount, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. . They were all played outdoors, as opposed to the warm, controlled environment inside the Oregon Oregon, city, United States Oregon, city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. Student Tennis Center, where the Ducks (12-10) will close the regular season with a dual match Sunday Sunday: see Sabbath; week. at noon against Washington State. "It is a difference going from indoors to outdoors," Schyllander said. "It slows things down and she can't use her big serve. Especially on the women's side, she's got one of the better serves in college tennis and it sets up her whole game." It keyed her victory against Liu, the 2003 and 2004 NCAA champion, a two-time national player of the year and a three-time all-American who was ranked 15th at the time. "I was really excited to play her because she is one of the best players in the U.S.," Dieskova said. "I just said I was going to stick to my game plan, and I played really smart and served really well. I wasn't nervous at all. I just wanted to have fun. I've been practicing for matches like that." Afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here , Schyllander called it one of the biggest wins in school history. "Obviously (two-time Pac-10 Conference champion and 2005 graduate Daria Panova) had some huge ones, but to beat a two-time NCAA champion speaks for itself," Schyllander said. "Amber Liu is one of the all-time great college players. That win, combined with what Daria did, validates that you can come (to Oregon), develop and really become a great player." Almost as impressive as Dieskova's victory against Liu was how she came back the next day to defeat Fodor, the top-ranked player in the conference - her first victory in three matches against the California junior. "Those kinds of wins bring your confidence up," Dieskova said. "But I won many matches before those and lost many matches as well, too. So I'm not going to make a big deal out of them. But they do make you more comfortable on the court." Dieskova is three wins away from breaking the single-season school record of 32 victories set twice by Panova. Last season, Dieskova won 22 matches - fifth most all-time - but failed to advance to the NCAA championships. That wasn't the case her freshman season. Dieskova came to Oregon a highly regarded recruit and didn't disappoint dis·ap·point v. dis·ap·point·ed, dis·ap·point·ing, dis·ap·points v.tr. 1. To fail to satisfy the hope, desire, or expectation of. 2. . The former Slovakian Junior National team member and third-place finisher at the 1998 Junior World Championships won 20 matches as a freshman and earned a spot at the NCAA championships. "I had a very good freshman year, and last year I felt like I still had to prove myself," Dieskova said. "Now I'm just trying to have fun and letting the results take care of themselves, and they are." The Pac-10 championships will be held April 27-30 in Ojai, Calif., and, thanks to her wins against Liu and Fodor, it's doubtful Dieskova will be able to take anybody by surprise. "People are a lot more fired up to play her," Schyllander said. "They know it's a serious challenge. You just need to peak at the right time. "She should have a great week, with her last dual match at home, and we'll get four days of good practice so that she'll feel good and confident." CAPTION(S): Oregon's Dominika Dieskova needs just three more victories to break the school single-season record of 32 set last year by Daria Panova. |
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