University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Georgetown
Panthers Defeat Georgetown after a Hard Fought Battle
2/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2010
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PITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh women’s tennis team won their second straight match, 4-3 today against Georgetown University after a come from behind victory to snag the doubles point.
The Panthers’ (2-1, 1-1 Big East) duo of Sabrina Visram (Windermere, Fla./Lake Highland Prep) and Gabi Catanzariti (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) were the first off the court following their 8-3 loss to the Hoyas’ (1-2, 0-2 Big East) Alex Sebia and Alexandra Landers. The loss marked the first of the year in doubles action for the pair.
Quick to respond was the team of Shannon Benic (Fox Chapel, Pa./Oakland Catholic) and Elizabeth Adams (Reading, Pa./Wilson High School) tying the doubles at 1-1 with an 8-4 win over Lauren Greco and Victoria Sekely.
With the doubles point in the hands of number three doubles, Karma Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) and Adela Aprodu (Hamilton, Ontario/Hamilton) found themselves down 4-7 late in the match. Without dropping a game, the two came back and won five straight to win the doubles point for the Panthers, 9-7 over Jacquie Harrison and Caroline Kuehn.
With the momentum from the doubles point, the Panthers headed into singles play where they won the first two matches off the court. Catanzariti kept her singles winning streak alive as she won her third consecutive match in straight sets against Kuehn, 6-4, 6-1.
Shortly after, Visram helped increase the Panthers lead to 3-0 when she downed Jacquie Harrison in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Quick to comeback, the Hoyas’ Greco defeated Aprodu 6-3, 6-3, edging the score a little closer at 3-1.
Adams and Parbhu each went to a third set after they both made a comeback to win their second sets to keep the match alive. Parbhu was the first to fall as Sebia won out in the end, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
The next third set loss came immediately after as Adams lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Sekely at the No. 1 singles spot. With the two singles wins helping the Hoyas the knot the match at 3-3, it came down to the third three setter of the day between Benic and Martin.
Benic won the first set 6-4 but then fell the following set 3-6 to Martin. With both teams down on the court for support the two began their third and match-deciding set.
“I feed off the energy,” said Benic. “I live for those moments.”
Benic won four games before giving up one to Martin. She quickly responded by winning the next two games, claiming the 6-1 win in the third set and sealing the 4-3 team win for the Panthers.
“Shannon Benic won her doubles match as well as her singles match so she deserves a lot of credit for winning when it matters and gutting it out for the team,” said head coach George Dieffenbach.
The victory gives Pitt the momentum they need going into it’s match against St. Bonaventure next weekend. The Panthers will travel to Olean, N.Y., next Saturday, Feb. 27 when they face the Bonnies at 10:00 a.m.
Doubles
1. Adams/Benic (Pitt) def. Greco/Sekely (Georgetown) 8-4
2. Sebia/Landers (Georgetown) def. Catanzariti/Visram (Pitt) 8-3
3. Aprodu-Parbhu (Pitt) def. Harrison/Kuehn (Georgetown) 9-7
Singles
1. Victoria Sekely (Georgetown) def. Elizabeth Adams (Pitt) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
2. Lauren Greco (Georgetown) def. Adela Aprodu (Pitt) 6-3, 6-3
3. Shannon Benic (Pitt) def. Samantha Martin (Georgetown) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
4. Gabrielle Catanzariti (Pitt) def. Caroline Kuehn (Georgetown) 6-4, 6-1
5. Sabrina Visram (Pitt) def. Jacquie Harrison (Georgetown) 6-2, 6-4
6. Alex Sebia def. Karma Parbhu (Pitt) 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
Players Mentioned
