Editor’s note: Sophomore Danielle Steinberg was awarded her first Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Week distinction this week. Over the weekend, Steinberg went 2-0 in singles play, defeating two national top-25 opponents. Steinberg, who is currently ranked No. 91, defeated USC’s No. 10 Lindsey Nelson on Friday and UCLA’s No. 22 Riza Zalameda on Saturday, both in straight sets. Steinberg also went 1-1 in doubles over the weekend at the No. 1 spot with Juliette Mavroleon. The Wildcat caught up with Steinberg to talk to her about the award, her biggest accomplishments and favorite off-the-court activities.

Wildcat: This was your first Pac-10 Player of the Week award. What does the award mean to you?

Steinberg: It actually means a lot to me. I know it’s just a stupid award and some people don’t really care about it, but it shows I’ve been working hard all year. In the beginning of the year, things didn’t really go very well for me tenniswise. But I’m glad everything’s coming together and I’m getting some good wins, and maybe I’ll get to nationals.

W: Last weekend, did the wins feel like they were that big of a deal?

S: Yeah. Nelson is a really good player, and she’s No. 10 in the country. So that was big for me. I beat her last year, so that was less of a surprise, but still a big win for me. I was also really happy because there were a lot of people there (at Robson Tennis Center) for the match.

W: What has been your biggest sports accomplishment?

S: I don’t know. Outside of college, I made the finals of the Israeli Championship in ’03. But in college, probably making it to nationals last year was the biggest.

W: If you could play any professional player or college player, who would it be?

S: Any college player?

W: Anyone. Any tennis player.

S: Well, OK, let’s do any college player first. I’d really like to play Audra Cohen. She’s No. 1 in the country now. She plays for Miami. And any professional player? I’d like to play Henin (Justine Henin-Hardenne) probably. I just really like her style and really like her game.

W: Is she your favorite tennis player?

S: Yeah.

W: What is your favorite thing to do other than play tennis?

S: Oh man. Eat. (Laughs)

W: Do you have a favorite food?

S: Just food, in general.

W: Coming from Tel-Aviv, Israel, what do you miss most from home?

S: My car. I had a car at home.

W: What kind of car was it?

S: I had a Fiat Punto. It’s a small car. You guys don’t have it here, it’s European. I had it, it was mine. Here I’ve got nothing. All I have is my bike. So, it’s kind of pathetic but I miss it. (Laughs)

W: Passover was just this last week. Did you do anything special for the holiday?

S: Yeah. I actually got an invitation from one of our fans, a Wildcat fan. So I went to his house and it was really nice. It was like a family dinner. So yeah, it was sweet.

– Interview by Bobby Stover