HUSKY SPOTLIGHT: DARIYA DETKOVSKAYA – University of Washington Athletics

For Dariya Detkovskaya, playing tennis in the United States was never on her radar — much less playing tennis at the University of Washington. 

Detkovskaya, originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan, always had intentions of staying close to home as she continued her tennis career, until an opportunity at Oklahoma State came along. 

The president of her tennis federation back home knew the head coach at Oklahoma State, where Detkovskaya ended up playing three seasons to begin her collegiate tennis career. 

With many other offers from US schools on the table but no intention of coming overseas to play, Detkovskaya was surprised when she took a visit to Stillwater, Oklahoma and fell in love with the campus. 

She competed at OSU for three seasons before transferring to San Diego State — where she was ranked No. 59 with doubles partner Andjela Skrobonja and No. 81 in singles with an 18-8 record — for one year. 

A SECOND TRANSITION TO WASHINGTON

While arranging to take on a summer internship and preparing for her final season of collegiate tennis at San Diego State, Detkovskaya got a call from Coach Stephenson. 

The senior decided on Washington shortly after a few phone calls and a visit out to Seattle, where her boyfriend was living at the time. 

“Meeting the team and coaches in person at UW was exactly how I imagined it to be based on the initial phone call I had with Robin,” Detkovskaya said. “I felt that Robin was a very genuine person just from being on a phone call — I could feel that warm welcome.”

HEAD COACH THOUGHTS 

“Dariya has brought a lot of experience to the team,” Head Coach Robin Stephenson said. “She has had a lot of success over the years and she is eager to continue building on that and making the most of her time as a Husky. I wish we had more than a year with her but I’m just very grateful we have the opportunity to work with her. 

“Dariya has a great work ethic and poise on court. She is a gifted athlete and I think her best tennis is ahead of her this season. I’m excited to see what she accomplishes the rest of the way and the impact she makes.”

EXPECTATIONS = MET

Since being at Washington, the team dynamic has lived up to what Detkovskaya expected it to be — supportive, generous and a very warm welcome. 

“I feel that this team has a really great mentality. No drama,” she said. “When you have generous people beside you, while playing a team sport, it’s easier to have trust.”

The senior mentioned that…