Pitt
Marshall
Panthers Fall 7-0 to No. 55 Marshall
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – The University of Pittsburgh women’s tennis team’s winning streak came to a halt today as the 55th-ranked Marshall Thundering Herd won 7-0 in Huntington, W. Va. on senior day.
“Today’s match was against an outstanding team from Marshall,” said head coach George Dieffenbach. “They are always very tough and it is one of the highlights of our season to compete against them.”
The Panthers (8-5, 2-3 Big East) took the No. 1 doubles match as Elizabeth Adams and Shannon Benic were 8-7 (3) winners over Michaela Kissell and Kara Kucin, but it was all Marshall after that as the Herd won the second and third doubles matches to take the early 1-0 lead into singles play.
“Adams and Benic’s win in number one doubles was one of the finest doubles wins in Pitt history,” commented Dieffenbach. “Both girls combined offensive play with excellent serve returns to defeat a very fine team from Marshall, doing it under pressure early in the tiebreaker at seven games all.”
Pitt’s lineup featured a change at No. 3 doubles with Sarah Dieffenbach playing in her first doubles match of the spring alongside Karma Parbhu. Also, making her second start in the lineup this spring in singles action was Minh Evans.
Ahead 1-0 heading into singles play, the Thundering Herd swept all six singles matches, winning each in straight sets.
“Adams battled hard and lost a very competitive 6-4, 6-4 match to nationally-ranked Michaela Kissell,” added Dieffenbach. “This match gets us ready for tomorrow’s tough Big East matchup with Cincinnati.”
The Panthers and Bearcats will meet in Huntington tomorrow at 10 a.m.. Pitt will look to extended its winning streak over Cincinnati after downing the Bearcats in the opening round of last year’s Big East Championship Tournament.
Doubles
1. Adams/Benic (Pitt) def. Kissell/Jucin (Marshall) 8-7 (3)
2. Zaprazna/Koprcina (Marshall) def. Catanzariti/Visram (Pitt) 8-0
3. Lock/Bailey (Marshall) def. Dieffenbach/Parbhu (Pitt) 8-0
Singles
1. No. 35 Michaela Kissell (Marshall) def. Elizabeth Adams (Pitt) 6-4,6-4
2. Dominika Zaprazna (Marshall) def. Shannon Benic (Pitt) 6-0, 6-2
3. Catherine Kellner (Marshall) def. Gabi Catanzariti (Pitt) 6-1, 6-0
4. Deanna Bailey (Marshall) def. Sabrina Visram (Pitt) 6-3, 6-0
5. Kristina Koprcina (Marshall) def. Karma Parbhu (Pitt) 6-1, 6-1
6. Kara Kucin (Marshall) def. Minh Evans (Pitt) 6-0, 6-2
