Tennis: Panthers drop two over weekend

The Pitt tennis team’s two-game winning streak snapped over the weekend, as it fell in… The Pitt tennis team’s two-game winning streak snapped over the weekend, as it fell in consecutive matches to No. 55 Marshall and Cincinnati in Huntington, W. Va.

On Saturday, the Panthers lost 7-0 to Marshall.

Elizabeth Adams and Shannon Benic won the only match of the day for the Panthers, defeating Michaela Kissell and Kara Kucin 8-7 (3) in doubles.

“That was their best win of the season,” Pitt head coach George Dieffenbach said. “That was an outstanding team they defeated. They were mentally tough in that match.”

The duo of Adams and Benic impressed Dieffenbach all season. He said they are consistent and aggressive but play defensive tennis when needed.

“They also return serves well,” he said. “They attack. That’s what produces wins.”

The Herd swept the next two matches to take a 1-0 lead into singles play. The duos of Gabrielle Catanzariti and Sabrina Visram and of Sarah Dieffenbach and Karma Parbhu both lost 8-0.

Marshall won all six singles matches in straight sets. Dieffenbach said Adams had a good showing against the nationally ranked Kissell, losing 6-4, 6-4. Adams showed she was a very tough competitor, Dieffenbach said.

Despite the loss, Dieffenbach said the team played well against “arguably the best [team] on the schedule.”

“The team was well focused and played very well against Marshall,” Dieffenbach said.

He wasn’t as pleased with the team’s performance against Cincinnati, as the Panthers fell 4-3 in a closely contested match.

Pitt started well, clinching the doubles point after Adams and Benic won 9-7 and Adela Aprodu and Parbhu picked up an 8-6 win.

In doubles, however, the Panthers failed to pull through in close matches. Three of Pitt’s four singles losses came in three-set matches.

“That’s very tight,” Dieffenbach said. “We battled them until the very end.”

Aprodu and Parbhu picked up singles wins for the Panthers. Aprodu won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, while Parbhu won in two sets 6-2, 6-2.

“Credit goes to them for winning,” Dieffenbach said.

Dieffenbach commented on the “close and competitive” loss for Adams, as she fell in three sets to Lindsey Lonergan 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.

“We came very close, but close is not good enough,” Dieffenbach said of Pitt’s loss to the Bearcats. “It was a very disappointing outcome, but now we pick up the pieces and practice well to get ready for our next match.”

Pitt’s next match starts its final stretch of the season. The Panthers will travel to Rhode Island on Friday to take on Providence at 2 p.m. Pitt wraps up the regular season with matches against St. John’s and Connecticut.

The Big East Championship is set to begin on April 22.