THE COACHES
The Reber Profile
8
Paul Reber
Head Coach • Eighth Season Arizona State ‘96 Career at Oregon: 70-86
In his eighth season, Oregon women’s tennis head coach Paul Reber continues to chart the Oregon women’s tennis program’s ascent up the Pac-12 and national rankings. Reber led the Ducks to 13 wins last year, the most during his tenure here at UO, and finished 69th in the ITA Rankings while climbing as high as 55th on the year. Nicole Long and Julia Metzger both posted 20-plus wins on the season while three other UO players tabbed double-digit victories. In 2012, Oregon (12-9) tied the record for most-wins in a season since the 2006-07 campaign (12). Patricia Skowronski and Sofia Hager, who reached as high as No. 52 in the ITA doubles rankings, moved to fifth on the alltime best doubles season list (19). As a team, UO spent several weeks ranked by the ITA, with the highest being No. 65. Reber had five Ducks post double-digit victories during the season. In her first season on campus, Reber was able to guide freshman Sofia Hager to a team-high 23 wins. Academically, five Ducks were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic team (Rabea Stueckemann, Metzger, Pascale Neubert, Patricia Skowronski and Trudie du Toit). Reber’s squad achieved ITA All-Academic status in addition to having seven tabbed as ITA Scholar-Athletes. Stueckemann led the way with her GPA of 4.10. The 2011 dual campaign saw Oregon win its first four duals of the season and enter the Intercollegiate Tennis
8
Association team rankings for the fifth consecutive season in Reber’s tenure. Among the highlights of the season, the Ducks posted their first win over a top-25 team in six years when they topped No. 20 Washington, 4-3, on March 11. Pavlina Smatova had a tremendous season for the Ducks, going 23-15 on the singles court and 23-13 in doubles play. She finished the year ranked in the top 100 in the singles circuit and spent time in the top 50 of the doubles rankings. Last season, UO opened the year with three straight victories by a combined 20-1 margin and spent the first month of the season ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s top 75.
Handpicked by his predecessor and current UO director of tennis Nils Schyllander, Reber was an obvious choice after a successful 10-year career at Arizona State University. The Kamloops, British Columbia native oversaw six NCAA top-10 teams and was also named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s West Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2005. During his ASU tenure, Reber coached eight All-Americans and led eight teams to the Sweet 16, including six top-10 finishes.
The 2008-09 season saw Reber’s Ducks knocked off two ranked teams en route to nine dual match wins. Reber also recruited well in 2009, snagging the No. 26 ranked recruiting class in the nation, including two U.S. players with five-star rankings.
Also an accomplished collegiate player for the Sun Devils, he was a four-year letter winner from 1992-96 and sported a 58-58 singles record that included 20 singles victories in 1994-95. He posted a 51-38 doubles mark, including a 23-15 record in 1994-95. He was the 1991 Canadian Junior Doubles Champion and won the singles championship the following year. In 1993 he was once again the doubles champion.
During the 2007-08 season, Reber saw one of his freshman recruits, the No. 78 ranked Celine Rolly, compete and excel at No. 1 singles throughout the season, compiling a 10-12 record in dual competition. The Maldegem, Belgium native also played at No. 1 doubles for the Ducks.
Reber received bachelor’s degrees in exercise science and history from Arizona State University in 1996. Paul married his wife Dana (Tucker) in 2002, and she is an ASU graduate with master’s and undergraduate degrees in social work. The couple has two sons, Owen and Griffin.
In 2006-07, he piloted the Oregon women to one of their finest seasons ever as UO finished the year ranked 41st nationally, went 12-12 on the season against a schedule full of the nation’s top teams, and made their sixth postseason trip in school history. Several of his first-year pupils also made a major impact on the Duck record books. Dominika Diskova and Ana Cecilia Olivos moved to first all-time for UO for most career doubles victories (49) and ranked fourth among season totals (19), while Dieskova also ended her career ranked second in most career singles wins (85).
2014 Women’s Tennis
The Reber Profile Paul Reber Coaching Profile Year
1996-2006 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Totals
School
Arizona State # Oregon * Oregon * Oregon * Oregon * Oregon * Oregon * Oregon * Seven Years
W
- 12 10 9 7 7 12 13 70
L
- 12 12 13 15 15 9 10 86
9
Pct.
.500 .455 .409 .318 .318 .571 .565 .449
# Assistant Coach * Head Coach
Reber All-Time vs. All Opponents
.Air Force.............................................................................1-0 .Akron.................................................................................0-1 .Alabama............................................................................1-2 .Arizona..............................................................................3-4 .Arizona State.....................................................................0-7 .Arkansas............................................................................0-1 .Boise State.........................................................................2-2 .BYU....................................................................................1-1 .California...........................................................................0-7 .Cal Poly..............................................................................1-1 .Colorado............................................................................4-2 .Denver...............................................................................2-0 .East Tennessee State..........................................................1-0 .Eastern Washington...........................................................4-0 .Gonzaga............................................................................1-0 .Houston.............................................................................1-0 .Idaho.................................................................................3-0 .Indiana..............................................................................0-1 .Iowa State.........................................................................1-0 .Long Beach State...............................................................0-1 .LSU....................................................................................0-1 .Michigan...........................................................................0-2 .Minnesota.........................................................................0-2 .Montana............................................................................1-0 .Montana State...................................................................2-0 .Nevada..............................................................................3-2 .New Mexico.......................................................................3-0 .Northern Arizona...............................................................1-0 .Ohio State..........................................................................1-3 .Oklahoma..........................................................................0-1 .Pacific................................................................................2-0 .Pepperdine........................................................................0-1 .Portland............................................................................7-0 .Portland State....................................................................5-0 .Purdue...............................................................................1-1 .Sacramento State..............................................................1-3 .Saint Mary’s.......................................................................0-1 .San Diego..........................................................................2-1 .San Diego State.................................................................0-1 .San Francisco.....................................................................2-0 .San Jose State....................................................................1-0 .Santa Clara........................................................................1-1 .Seattle...............................................................................1-0 .Stanford.............................................................................0-7 .Texas Tech..........................................................................1-0 .UC Davis.............................................................................1-0 .UCLA..................................................................................0-7 .USC....................................................................................0-7 .Utah..................................................................................1-3 .Washington.......................................................................3-6 .Washington State..............................................................4-6 2014 Women’s Tennis
9
10
The Kovacek Profile
Maja Kovacek
Assistant Coach • Seventh Season New Mexico ‘06
In six seasons as the University of Oregon assistant women’s tennis coach, Maja Kovacek has helped UO make strides up the national rankings. Kovacek has helped the Ducks to dual match wins over 11 ranked opponents in the last seven years, including UO’s 4-3 win over No. 20 Washington during the 2010-11 campaign. The victory was monumental for the Ducks, vaulting them from being unranked to No. 54 nationally in mid-March. Throughout the last few seasons, Kovacek has shown that her considerable ability on the playing court could transfer seamlessly into the coaching ranks.
of the Lobos her senior season. In the classroom, she was equally decorated as an MWC Scholar Athlete Award winner in 2004, ’05 and ’06, an ITA Academic All-American, ITA Scholar Athlete honoree and ESPN Academic All-District recipient. Away from the court, she was a Habitat for Humanity volunteer and a treasurer for the Women Athletes in Medicine and Health Sciences organization. Prior to college, she played on the WTA circuit in 2001 and 2002. Kovacek returned to the WTA circuit in ’05 after college, and reached as high as No. 1062 in world rankings. The Croatian native graduated from UNM with Bachelor of Arts degrees in psychology and sociology in 2006
With her alma mater, New Mexico, as an undergraduate assistant coach before coming to Oregon, she worked with all areas of the program during the 2006-07 season, including practicing and conditioning. Kovacek is equally respected in national circles as a top collegiate player. At the Albuquerque, N.M. institution, she was a two-time All-American in 2004 and ’06 and a three-year NCAA qualifier (2004, ’05 and ’06). In the national rankings, she climbed as high as second in doubles and 20th in singles. She was tabbed Mountain West Conference (MWC) Player of the Year in 2004 and ’05 and its Student-Athlete of the Year in 2006. She was also selected as one of 30 national NCAA Woman of the Year nominees in 2006, and was team captain 10
2014 Women’s Tennis