Women’s Tennis: Big East Championship tournament in sight for Panthers

After making history last year by winning a first-round match in the Big East Championship,… After making history last year by winning a first-round match in the Big East Championship, the Pitt women’s tennis team looks to repeat history.

With a 2-1 weekend record, including wins over Seton Hall and winless Villanova, head coach George Dieffenbach is confident the Panthers (7-4, 3-3 Big East) can qualify for the regular season finale tournament.

“They take the top 12 teams in a 16-team league, and the [Seton Hall] win really enhanced our chances of qualifying for it,” Dieffenbach said.

Dieffenbach said the Panthers would most likely have to win the rest of their conference matches to finish in ninth place in the Big East, the same seed they earned last season.

But by earning a low seed, the Panthers would still need to face the elite of the conference in early rounds, such as Rutgers.

Pitt won matches against Seton Hall (4-0) and Villanova (4-2) but lost 7-0 to Rutgers on Sunday. It’s been a theme for Pitt, which has never beat Rutgers, losing all 15 matches to the Scarlet Knights.

“Rutgers is always very strong. They have a lot of talent, and we played a lot of close matches against them,” Dieffenbach said. “It was a 7-0 loss but a fairly close 7-0 loss. Our number-one doubles played very well and [freshman Karma] Parbhu lost in three sets.”

Pitt bounced back on Sunday to beat Seton Hall in a match that, due to time constraints, was played in Big East Conference tournament format. The winner of the match is the first team to earn the fourth point.

Junior Adela Aprodu and freshman Gabrielle Catanzariti clinched the match for Pitt with singles victories over the No. 2 and No. 4 singles opponents respectively.

The Panthers move on to face Carnegie Mellon next Tuesday. Dieffenbach said the match will be a difficult one considering the extended break and the Tartans’ strong team.

“CMU will be a good match for us; they’re ranked in the top 10 in the country in Division III,” Dieffenbach said.

The week off will help the team recuperate after a season of wear and tear.

“The tennis season is a very long year. Unlike most of the other Big East sports, it starts in early September, and it goes the whole way through until April,” Dieffenbach said. “That’s a long time to keep your team focused and injury-free and rested.”

The hard work is done. He said the team is getting a couple days off over Easter to make sure they “stay out of the training room.”

The hiatus could prove valuable if the Panthers hit their stride and qualify for the Big East Championship.

“I would say we’re going to need at least four more Big East wins to qualify for the conference tournament,” Dieffenbach said.

It’s a big task at hand, he added, but the experience from last year’s seven Big East victories and upset win in the first round of the Big East Championship helps.