University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Syracuse
Women's Tennis Falls 7-0 to Syracuse
3/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 4, 2012
HARMARVILLE, Pa.--The University of Pittsburgh women's tennis team dropped a 7-0 contest to Syracuse at Alpha Tennis and Fitness Club on Sunday.
"We competed against one of the best teams in the Big East today," Pitt head coach George Dieffenbach said. "Syracuse is talented, strong offensively and has lots of weapons. This match prepares us for the rest of the season, including the three consecutive conference matches we have coming up in two weeks."
Despite the score, the Panthers (5-5, 2-3 Big East) played several close, hard-fought matches. In No. 2 doubles, Pitt's pair of junior Gabrielle Catanzariti and sophomore Kimmy Borza jumped out to a 4-1 advantage. The Panthers held momentum in the contest and went ahead 6-4. The Orange (10-4, 5-1 Big East) continued to close and even tied the match before prevailing 8-6 over Catanzariti and Borza.
The No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Jocelyn Lu and Taylor Washington trailed early in their match, 4-1. Later, Pitt pulled within one, 6-5, thanks to a powerful swing from Washington to secure the fifth game. However, that would be as close as they would get as Syracuse swept the next two games for the 8-5 pro set.
Freshmen Amanda Wickman and Molly Wickman led 2-1 in No. 3 doubles. The pairing would drop the next two before splitting four with Syracuse to trail 4-3. The Orange would then gain momentum and move on to their eventual win.
"We had a chance to earn the doubles point," Dieffenbach said. "All three teams played well. We will learn from this loss and grow."
In singles play, Washington battled back and forth with Amanda Rodgers of Syracuse. Washington dropped the first set 6-4. In the second set, she played it close but slipped 7-5.
"Taylor played a competitive match," Dieffenbach said. "She was aggressive and fought for every point."
Pitt resumes play on Wednesday, March 21 at Youngstown State (noon).
Doubles
Emily Harman/Alessondra Parra (SU) def. Jocelyn Lu/Taylor Washington (Pitt), 8-5
Maddie Kobelt/Amanda Rodgers (SU) def. Gabrielle Catanzariti/Kimmy Borza (Pitt), 8-6
Anika Novacek/Komal Safdar (SU) def. Amanda Wickman/Molly Wickman (Pitt), 8-3
Singles
Emily Harman (SU) def. Jocelyn Lu (Pitt) 6-2, 6-0
Maddie Kobelt (SU) def. Gabrielle Catanzariti (Pitt) 6-3, 6-3
Amanda Rodgers (SU) def. Taylor Washington (Pitt) 6-4, 7-5
Komal Safdar (SU) def. Amanda Wickman (Pitt) 6-1, 6-0
Alessondra Parra (SU) def. Molly Wickman (Pitt) 6-0, 6-3
Anika Novacek (SU) def. Kimmy Borza (Pitt) 6-3, 6-2
Players Mentioned
