Pitt
St. John's
Dieffenbach Earns 300th Career Win
4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 17, 2010
STORRS, Conn. – University of Pittsburgh tennis head coach George Dieffenbach grabbed his 300th career victory at the helm of the Panthers’ women’s tennis program as Pitt downed St. John’s 4-3 here today at the University of Connecticut Tennis Courts.
The Panthers (10-6, 5-4 Big East) fought hard to pull out the close win over the Red Storm (8-10, 4-2 Big East), handing St. John’s just their second Big East Conference loss of the season. After securing the doubles point, Pitt’s big wins in singles play helped them edge out St. John’s.
Pitt opened up by taking the doubles point after earning wins in both the No. 2 and No. 3 matches by an 8-6 margin.
Once in singles action, Elizabeth Adams recovered after dropping her first set to beat Ira Aleksova, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 while Adela Aprodu picked up her fourth win of the weekend, scoring a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles over Joanna Zwirbulis.
In the end though, the match came down to a lone singles point. Gabi Catanzariti’s three-set win against St. John’s Jenny Yonkus broke the 3-3 match tie and gave the Panthers the win.
“Catanzariti was very offensive in the third set to pull out the exciting victory for the Panthers,” said Dieffenbach. “Today's win gives us Big East momentum going into our final regular-season match versus Connecticut tomorrow.”
In addition to Big East momentum, the win gives Dieffenbach his 300th victory in coaching the women’s tennis team at Pitt. Dieffenbach has been the head coach since 1981, helping the women’s team earn their highest ever finish at the Big East Championship last year with a seventh place finish.
Dieffenbach credits his players’ efforts in getting the wins for the Panthers and gives thanks to the athletics department for the opportunity to coach women’s tennis.
“I have been blessed by God to have coached Pitt tennis for 29 years and I want to congratulate all the student athletes who have given such a great effort to produce their 300 victories,” said Dieffenbach. “I thank these student athletes for the teamwork that they have used to win these 300 matches. They are a credit to their great university.”
The 300 wins for the women’s program isn’t the only accomplishment for Dieffenbach. He tallied a 189-157 record while coaching the men’s program from 1975-1995, putting his career total win count at 489, just 11 shy of another tremendous milestone.
A point of pride for the Panthers, Dieffenbach’s experience with victories has helped them to a winning season this year and most recently, this weekend. Pitt is on two-match Big East winning streak this weekend after defeating Providence and St. John’s.
Looking to continue their streak, the Panthers will meet the University of Connecticut (5-10, 3-4 Big East) tomorrow for their final regular-season match on the Huskies home courts. Match time is set for 10 a.m.
Doubles
1. Firat/Yonkus (St. John’s) def. Adams/Benic (Pitt) 8-4
2. Catanzariti/Visram (Pitt) def. Zwirbulis/Mikhaylova (St. John’s) 8-6
3. Aprodu/Parbhu (Pitt) def. Aleksova/Liantonio (St. John’s) 8-6
Singles
1. Elizabeth Adams (Pitt) def. Ira Aleksova (St. John’s) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
2. Adela Aprodu (Pitt) def. Joanna Zwirbulis (St. John’s) 6-3, 6-4
3. Ece Firat (St. John’s) def. Shannon Benic (Pitt) 6-2, 6-0
4. Gabi Cantanzariti (Pitt) def. Jenny Yonkus (St. John’s) 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4
5. Ksenia Mikhaylova (St. John’s) def. Sabrina Visram (Pitt) 6-1, 6-1
6. Nakita Austin (St. John’s) def. Karma Parbhu (Pitt) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
