Women’s Tennis: Adams, Panthers bounce back with 7-0 win against Norfolk State

Heading into this past weekend, junior Elizabeth Adams had lost three consecutive singles… Heading into this past weekend, junior Elizabeth Adams had lost three consecutive singles matches for the first time in her Pitt tennis career.

Now, she appears back on track after beating Norfolk State’s Jennifer Astbury in their No. 1 singles match 6-0, 6-0 as the Panthers (4-2, 1-2 Big East) dominated the Spartans last week with a 7-0 victory.

“[The win] helped me regain some confidence. I was 2-3 and not off to a good start this season, but I didn’t feel any more pressure to win,” Adams said, adding that she couldn’t recall another period in her career when she lost three straight matches.

Adams, who last year became the first Pitt tennis player in school history selected to the all-Big East team, had only lost consecutively once since joining the Panthers. Two years ago, as a freshman, she lost singles matches against University of California, Riverside and San Diego before beating Emily Thayer of Youngstown State 6-2, 6-2.

“She was able to be aggressive and attack,” Pitt Head Coach George Dieffenbach said of Adams’ performance against Norfolk State. “She was on top of her game.”

The win against Norfolk State comes after a poor showing against Syracuse, when the Panthers lost 7-0. The loss snapped Pitt’s three-game winning streak.

“Syracuse was a much stronger team. Norfolk State was a good team, but not as good as Syracuse,” Dieffenbach said. “That was a team effort. Everybody played well. It was a complete team match.”

One reason Dieffenbach got credited for the win against Norfolk was that the Panthers were able to practice outside on consecutive days for the first time since the fall.

“We got down there a little early and were able to go outside and get used to wind and sun,” Adams said.

Along with her singles win, Adams also teamed with Shannon Benic to win the No. 1 doubles match 8-0 against Astbury and Naeemah Brooks. In the No. 3 singles match, Benic beat Brooks 6-0, 6-1.

Junior Adela Aprodu also won two matches on the afternoon. She defeated Brittany Foster in the No. 2 singles match 6-1, 6-1, and teamed up with Karma Parbhu in the No. 3 doubles match to beat Brittany Foster and Ashley Foster 8-3. Parbhu also beat Ashley Foster 6-3, 6-0 in the No. 6 singles match.

Pitt’s final doubles pair was Sabrina Visram and Gabrielle Catanzariti. In the No. 2 doubles match they beat Rebecca Graff and Chenge Tsapayi 8-2. In the No. 4 singles match, Catanzariti beat Tsapayi 6-2, 6-3. Visram beat Graff 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 5 singles match.

The Panthers are back on the courts today at noon when they travel to Youngstown State. After that, Pitt hosts Duquesne March 23 before traveling to Villanova to continue the Big East action.

“Youngstown State will probably be a better matchup,” Dieffenbach said. “We’ll have to continue to be aggressive and attacking on offense. This will be a good chance for us to try and build up some momentum heading into Big East play.”