Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Elizaveta Avdeeva has plenty of experience irritating her opponents.
Of course, playing Avdeeva would drive you batty, too. Avdeeva (teammates call her Liza) might look like Little Bo Peep, but don’t let her appearance fool you. This 5-foot-9-inch Russian native with a spectacular forehand slugs it out from the baseline like a bare-knuckled brawler.
Elizaveta Avdeeva, Obninsk, Russia, junior, plays for the Kansas tennis team. Avdeeva stood out last season with an 8-2 record while playing doubles with teammate Edina Horvath, Budapest, Hungary, sophomore.
As you would expect, Avdeeva has no problem being a nuisance for her opponents on the court.
“It’s nice,” she said. “If I see something doesn’t work [in their game], I just try to take advantage.”
Need more proof? Ask Petra Dizdar of Texas. Dizdar came into her Jan. 27 match against Avdeeva a three-time All Big 12 player, but walked off the court aggravated and empty-handed, as Avdeeva defeated Dizdar 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3.
Yet, for all of Avdeeva’s early-season success it is easy to forget how far she has come in the past four years.
In the fall of 2004, Avdeeva was a freshman at Moscow State University looking for a way to play tennis at the collegiate level, but Moscow State did not have a women’s tennis program, so Avdeeva was forced to look elsewhere. “I still wanted to play tennis, but I just didn’t have a chance to play,” she said.
Enter Kansas and coach Amy Hall-Holt.
Avdeeva became a Jayhawk in January 2005, and shortly after claimed the No. 1 singles spot. However, Avdeeva’s transition to Division I collegiate tennis and life in the United States was filled with a few obstacles.
“The first couple months were really hard for me to get used to the new environment, new people, the team environment,” she said. “You practice with the team, you focus on team goals, that was kind of different.”
Avdeeva struggled to a 5-13 record in her freshman singles campaign, but bounced back in a big way during her sophomore season. Competing at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles with Ksenia Bukina, Avdeeva was named All-Big 12 in singles and doubles. She also excelled in the classroom and named to the Academic All-Big 12 team. For Avdeeva, the transformation was all about maturity.
“My freshman year, I started to play No. 1, and I just was losing matches. I was impatient. I was trying to hit balls really hard,” she said. “Last year and this year I changed my game. I became more patient. I think I’m playing smarter.”
pullquote
You practice with the team, you focus on team goals, that was kind of different.
-Elizaveta Avdeeva
Coming in to the 2007 season, the pressure was squarely on Avdeeva to live up to her 2006 accolades, and thus far, she has answered the call. Avdeeva has grown a reputation as a grinding singles player whose matches tend to turn into marathons. Avdeeva has a 2-2 record in four three-set matches. Avdeeva, though, has been most impressive on the doubles court with new partner Edina Horvath. Adveeva and Horvath, a Budapest, Hungary native, have led the Jayhawks with an 8-2 record at No. 1 doubles.
“We are really confident together,” said Horvath. More than that, the duo seems to have developed and unshakable chemistry on the court.
“Sometimes you can feel the partner,” said Avdeeva referring to her ability to sense Horvath’s movements on the court. “Where she’s going to go, where she is going to hit the ball, how she’s going to hit the ball.”
Despite Avdeeva’s 8-2 record in doubles, coach Hall-Holt gives her biggest praise to the things you don’t see, Avdeeva’s intangibles.
“It’s her enthusiasm, her dedication,” Hall-Holt said. “I know she has a very high talent level. It’s just very exciting to see her step up on the court.”
As Avdeeva continues to step up for the Kansas tennis team, one thing is certain. If you step out onto a tennis court with Avdeeva, prepare to be irritated.
Kansan sportswriter Rustin Dodd can be contacted at rdodd@kansan.com.
— Edited by Sharla Shivers
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