Panthers Open Fall Slate at Miami Fall Invite
9/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Tournament Bracket
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh tennis team is slated to open its fall schedule in Coral Gables, Fla., at the Miami Fall Invite hosted by the University of Miami. Competition will begin Friday, Sept. 18 and will conclude Sunday, Sept. 20.
The Panthers will clash with some of the best women’s collegiate tennis players as 14 of their singles opponents were recently ranked in the 2015 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Women’s Division I Preseason Rankings, while five different doubles teams were within the top 60 as well.
“We are very excited to be getting on the road,” head coach Alex Santos said. “Playing such high caliber opponents gives us tremendous motivation and we look forward to embracing the challenge.”
Pitt’s five opponents all had top finishes to the 2015 regular season as Vanderbilt came in first in the final Oracle/ITA team rankings after winning the program’s first-ever NCAA Championship. ACC-foes Miami finished 15th, followed by Georgia Tech in the No. 20 spot. Close behind, Ohio State concluded the season at No. 21, while Auburn finished 46th.
Returning to doubles action is junior Lolade Ogungbesan and senior Amber Washington, who will compete together again after recording a 2-4 tour record last fall. The tandem had the opportunity to work on their game over the summer as the returners defeated fellow Panthers Audrey Ann Blakely and Callie Frey in the ITA Summer Circuit championship match.
Frey and Blakely will team up with freshmen Clara Lucas and Carina Ma, respectively, in doubles action this weekend. Freshmen Natsumi Okamoto and Gabriela Rezende will also make their collegiate debut at the Miami Fall Invite and compete in doubles together. The four freshmen will also face top competition in singles action as well.
“We believe in this group of girls and right now it is the time for them to trust themselves and enjoy the fight,” Santos said.
For complete draws click on the tournament bracket link at the top of the page. Updates throughout the weekend will be provided on the team’s Twitter page at @PittTennis.