Luke Loranger |
The UP women’s tennis team was able to successfully hold off strong opponent UC Davis in the first dual season opener on Jan. 25.
The team won 4-3 in a match against the Aggies that was ultimately decided by the strong performance of the doubles in the first half of the match.
Sophomore Lucia Butkovska, currently ranked No. 60 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, dominated in singles, winning both sets 6-1. Butkovska also helped bring the doubles team a victory with a 6-3 win. Junior Maja Mladenovic (ranked No. 104) and senior Sophie van den Aarssen won their match 6-0.
The Pilots struggled in the second half of the matches played in the day. Assistant head coach Filip Zivkovic, former UP tennis player, attributes this to the team's inability to win on no ad points.
No ad points is a rule that has been installed for the spring 2015 season, and means that one point decides the game.
“All the games [lost on Sunday] came down to no ad points,” Zivkovic said. “We allowed these points to get away from us. We need to work on getting better at converting these points. It’s a new rule and creates a little more pressure, and we need to make sure we are sharp enough in those situations.”
Still, Zivkovic believes this is the most talented women’s tennis team UP has ever had.
“Having ranked players has helped contribute to the talent at the top,” Zivkovic said.
Having multiple ranked players is a first for the team, which has not had a ranked player since 2002. Zivkovic believes the team has depth at the top and bottom which is something UP has never had before.
The Pilots will begin a two game home series against Montana State and Oklahoma in Eugene on Feb. 7.
Luke Loranger is a Sports reporter for the Beacon. He can be reached at loranger18@up.edu or on Twitter @loranger18.
