Colorado Upsets No. 34 Oregon

Boulder - The Colorado women's tennis team (2-0) opened the season unranked and unnoticed and surprised No. 34 Oregon by upending the Ducks 4-3 Friday afternoon at the Millennium Harvest House tennis bubble.

The match was the first for the Ducks (0-1), who opened the match with the lead after winning two of the three doubles matches. Colorado's No. 1 duo of Sarah Burrows and Jessica Vanderdys dropped their match to Courtney Nagle and Dania Panova, 8-0. At No. 2, Buffs Morgan Sall and Kendra Strandemo earned an 8-5 victory over Monika Gieczys and Davina Mendiburu. Colorado's third doubles team of Dominique Lemperle and Susan Johnson lost their match 8-5 to Oregon's Anna Leksinska and Jamie Marshall.

After Katherine Lutgert dropped her No. 1 singles match to Oregon's Dania Panova 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, Colorado captured victories in the No. 2 through No. 5 spots to earn four points and a victory.

Three Buffs won their singles matches in straight sets. At No. 2, Lemperle defeated Nagle 6-4, 6-3. Vanderdys captured her win, with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Gieczys in the No. 3 slot while Burrows won her match 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5.

At No. 4 singles, Strandemo and Mendiburu split their first two sets, each one capturing a 6-3 win. With Strandemo leading 3-2 in the final set, Mendiburu went down with a knee injury and was forced to retire giving Colorado the final point needed for the victory.

"This is the biggest win I've had since I've been here as a coach," said head coach Nicole Kenneally. "I think it shows the players what a lot of hard work can do. It just shows us what's possible. After all their hard work, they deserved it.

"I hope this will give us a chance to hop into those rankings somewhere."

The Buffs will face another tough test when they play Illinois on Sunday. The Illini come in ranked No. 45 in the nation and carrying a 1-1 record. Illinois and Oregon will face-off Saturday before Colorado faces the Illini the following day. The CU-Illinois match time is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Harvest House.

Colorado 4, No. 34 Oregon 3
Doubles
Nagle/Panova, OU def. Burrows/Vanderdys, CU 8-0
Sall/Strandemo, CU def. Gieczys/Mendiburu, OU 8-5
Leksinska/Marshall, OU def. Lemperle/Johnson, CU 8-5

Singles
Dania Panova, OU def. Katherine Lutgert, CU 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
Dominique Lemperle, CU def. Courtney Nagle, OU 6-4, 6-3
Jessica Vanderdys, CU def. Monika Gieczys, OU 6-2, 6-2
Kendra Strandemo, CU def. Davina Mendiburu, OU 6-3, 3-6, 3-2 ret.
Sarah Burrows, CU def. Julie Merle, OU 6-4, 6-2
Jamie Marshall, OU def. Morgan Sall, CU 7-5, 6-4