Tennis: Panthers show their new No. 1 doubles team

The Pitt women’s tennis team showcased their new No. 1 doubles pair last week at the Women’s… The Pitt women’s tennis team showcased their new No. 1 doubles pair last week at the Women’s Eastern College Collegiate Tournament, held annually at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

The pairing, made up of sophomore Kimmy Borza and freshman Molly Wickman, played in the Honors consolation bracket after an 8-2 loss in the second round of the Top-Flight bracket to Quinnipiac’s second-seeded doubles pair, Michelle Dassa and Jackie Raynor. Borza and Wickman then stormed through the rest of their competition to win the Honors bracket and finish the weekend 4-1 overall.

“It was different playing with Kimmy, but I had a lot of fun,” Wickman said. “I thought we did really well, and the match that we lost really could have gone either way.”

Borza shared similar sentiments about her partner.

“It was the first time we had played together in a match, but it went really well,” Borza said. “We complement each other as players, and we are both very intense. Also, we were able to make adjustments easily as we moved on and that really helped.”

Last season, the Panthers finished with a record below .500 for the first time in five years, but the future remains bright.

Borza and fellow sophomore Jocelyn Lu were able to establish themselves early on last year, and are now accompanied by Wickman and her twin sister, Amanda. The twins from Grand Rapids, Mich., were both four-star recruits, according to tennisrecruiting.net. Not only will these two players help one another become more comfortable on campus, but — more importantly — they will also help the Panthers win matches.

“It’s awesome to have my sister here with me,” Molly said. “We’ve played and practiced together for our whole lives, and we both wanted to go to the same school. I love having her here because we each support each other and [that] will help us become more comfortable here.”

This year, expectations are high for the team. After having one of their best showings at this tournament in years, expectations are even higher.

With the impending move to the ACC, the timing of the Panthers’ improvement couldn’t be better. Although the change is a few years down the road and might not affect every player on the roster, the move is on the minds of players and coaches alike.

“I’m excited about the move. The competition there is a lot higher, and we’re going to play the top teams every year,” Molly Wickman said. “Especially Miami, who won the NCAA Tennis Championship last year. That level of competition is going to motivate us and make us better.”

“It will be awesome. The ACC is arguably the best tennis conference in the nation, and that alone is going to help Pitt become a better program,” Borza added.

Head coach George Dieffenbach added some sentiment about the Big East.

“I appreciate all that the Big East has done for us. We have played in this conference for the majority of my tenure as coach here,” Dieffenbach said. “But the ACC has great teams. There are always teams and players ranked and playing for the national championship, and it will be a great move for Pitt both athletically and academically. Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pederson have done a great job transitioning us, and we appreciate their efforts greatly.”

But, before moving to one of tennis’s more competitive conferences or even on to the official season, the Panthers had to compete in last week’s tournament. The tournament, which featured singles and doubles play split into two tiers, gave opportunities for lower-seeded teams to play up into the higher-seeded brackets.

Borza and Wickman won their first match against a doubles team from Long Island, but then lost to the  Quinnipiac duo 8-2 in the quarterfinals. From there, the two took home 8-6 and 8-2 wins over teams from Bowdoin and Army, respectively. In the final game, Borza and Wickman ran roughshod over their competition from Albany for an 8-0 victory and the Honors bracket title.

Other Panthers enjoyed success this past weekend, including the doubles pairing of senior Minh Evans and junior Karma Parbhu, who defeated teams from Rhode Island and Fordham to reach the B Doubles final. However, they fell 9-7 in a tight match to a tandem from Seton Hall.

Sophomore Taylor Washington also reached a final round. While en route to the final match of the D Singles bracket, Washington upset the top-seeded player from Rhode Island, Kathleen Uy, with a 3-6, 6-1, 10-4 victory. Despite losing her first set, Washington rallied in the second for a convincing victory and then dominated again in the deciding third set. Although Washington did not see much action last season, all signs point to her stepping up in a big way this coming year.

“It was great to see her get to the finals,” Dieffenbach said. “She competed to the very end of the super tiebreak. She played great offensively and defensively and with a lot of poise.”

Junior Gabrielle Catanzariti, playing in the B Singles consolation bracket, advanced to the finals with victories over players from Hofstra, Sacred Heart and Lehigh. However, Catanzariti fell in the final, 7-5, 6-0, to Taysha Blessington of Long Island.

Amanda Wickman represented the Panthers in the final round of her singles bracket. She won matches against players from Lehigh and Big East conference mate Providence to reach the finals, where she fell in a tough 9-7 game to an opponent from Sacred Heart.

Overall, the Panthers were represented in five final contests. Despite winning only one of them, this performance indicates the impressive progress that Pitt tennis has made in the offseason, as well as the importance of the team’s new additions. Additionally, the Panthers had not enjoyed much success at West Point in the past, let alone to the degree they experienced this past weekend.

“We were close on all of our draws; some of our matches could have gone either way,” Borza said. “But we all played well, and the way we played was one of the best showings we had there in years.”

“That is always a good tourney to go to,” Dieffenbach added. “It is based on individual scoring, as opposed to team, so that takes a little bit of the pressure off. It was a great event. We achieved a lot of goals there and showed a lot of promise.”