Pitt outlasts West Virginia in Big East tournament

Clinching two wins in the Big East Championship, the Pitt tennis team made history.

The… Clinching two wins in the Big East Championship, the Pitt tennis team made history.

The Panthers defeated rival West Virginia, 4-3, in a breathtaking final match. They accumulated two victories in the Big East Championships for the first time in their history.

The championship took place in Tampa Bay, Fla., last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and beating West Virginia was a positive finish to a disappointing start.

Pitt opened the tournament with a loss to Rutgers in the first round. The Scarlet Knights dominated the Panthers in the first match and won, 4-1.

The second day, the Panthers bounced back to pull off a 4-1 win over Georgetown. The win gave the Panthers a shot at a ninth-place finish in the tournament with a win over West Virginia.

After two doubles matches against West Virginia, the count was 1-1, forcing the No. 3 doubles team to come out on top. Seniors Leah Friedman and Carlie Smith battled hard to win the deciding doubles point against the Mountaineers.

In singles, junior Christie D’Achille broke the 3-3 tie to win the match and record the 88th win of her career.

Each Panther scored a point in the history-making win over the Mountaineers.

Finishing ninth in the conference, the Panthers tied the best finish ever in the history of the program.

“Overall, I think we are extremely happy with our performance at the Big East Championship,” Pitt freshman Elizabeth Adams said. “We won the Backyard Brawl in Tampa to take ninth place, which is a huge win for us again this year.”