Panthers drop two in a row

Senior Carlie Smith and junior Kristy Borza both achieved milestone victories over the weekend… Senior Carlie Smith and junior Kristy Borza both achieved milestone victories over the weekend against Cincinnati.

Unfortunately for Pitt, the team didn’t fare as well against neither the Bearcats nor Marshall.

Smith and Borza both earned their 115th career victories on Sunday, but the Panthers lost to the Bearcats, 4-3, after dropping their match against Marshall, 7-0, on Saturday.

“It was frustrating comprehending the [Cincinnati] loss with so many close matches,” senior Leah Friedman said after Pitt lost its first conference match to the Bearcats on Sunday. “But we have to move on.”

Pitt, now 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big East, started off on top against the Bearcats with a doubles win from Borza and freshman Elizabeth Adams.

“After the doubles point we were pretty confident in our ability to win the match,” said Friedman.

Friedman and Smith defeated Cincinnati’s Alizee Paradise and Ashley Hale, 8-3, to seal the doubles point for Pitt.

“We knew that Cincinnati would be the important match we needed to spur our confidence in winning the Big East,” said Friedman.

Both Borza and Friedman accumulated wins in singles action, as well. Borza’s two victories ties her with Smith at 115 career wins, making them fifth overall on the all-time Pitt wins list.

Adams, Smith and sophomore Sabrina Visram each forced three sets in their singles matches, but in the end, all three fell shy of a victory.

Against the Thundering Herd, who hosted both Pitt and Cincinnati over the weekend, every Pitt player fell short.

Even Borza, who holds the Pitt singles victories record with 68, lost, 6-3, 6-2, to Marshall’s Kellie Schmitt, ranked as the nation’s No. 19 singles player by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Marshall completed a clean sweep of the Panthers in both singles and doubles. None of Pitt’s singles players or doubles teams recorded a victory.

The team is preparing for this upcoming weekend’s matches against George Mason and rival West Virginia. Pitt has never beaten the Mountaineers, but Friedman believes this could be the year.

“We can do it if we stay focused and use what we learned against Cincinnati,” Friedman said.