Tennis near-perfect at CMU, picks up win

Six members of the University of Pittsburgh women’s tennis team advanced to the singles… Six members of the University of Pittsburgh women’s tennis team advanced to the singles finals and all four Pitt doubles teams advanced to the doubles finals over the weekend at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational. Pitt swept the singles matches on Friday to take home all four titles, and then won all but one doubles match the next day as the team opened its fall schedule on the road just down Forbes Avenue.

“We had a lot of winners in this tournament,” head coach George Dieffenbach said. “We felt well-prepared as we had just finished our own tournament that we use to set our lineup.”

Sophomore Kristy Borza picked up the first title during the flight one championship match, where she met her own doubles teammate, junior Leah Friedman. Borza topped Friedman, 6-2, 6-1, for the singles crown, and finished the tournament with a 3-0 singles record.

“I cheer for Pitt when we have two players in the finals,” Dieffenbach said. “We don’t do any coaching, just sit back and watch, let them play and give them feedback when it’s over.”

Borza shutout her first opponent of the season with a 6-0, 6-0 win, then defeated Jackie Hughes of Duquesne, 6-4, 6-0, in the semifinals.

Friedman lost the first set of her opening match against Duquesne’s Johanna Bezjak, 3-6, but answered in the next set with a 6-1 win. In the tie breaker, the pair played through 22 points, and Friedman came out victorious with a 12-10 win.

Friedman then moved to the championship after a 7-6, 1-0 win over a Carnegie Mellon opponent because of a retire.

Two more Panthers battled in the flight two championship as senior Annie Davies met junior Carlie Smith after they each won their first two matches of the season. Davies picked up the No. 2 singles title, picking up the win, 6-1, 6-4.

Davies knocked out Kathy Skopinski of Robert Morris, 6-0, 6-1, and Rachel McGowan of Duquesne in the semi-finals, 6-2, 6-3.

Smith battled through two tough matches as she defeated Rebecca Poole of Duquesne, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6), and picked up her second win of the season over her CMU opponent in the semi-finals, 6-1, 6-4.

Pitt picked up its third title in No. 3 singles, as sophomore Christie D’achille won three straight matches, including two wins over CMU opponents. In her title match, D’achille won a tough first set, 6-3, and shut out her Duquesne opponent, Alicia McNamara, in the second set, 6-0.

Pitt freshman Anna Boverman also competed in the flight three singles pool, but fell to McNamara in the first round, 2-6, 2-6.

Freshman Anne Piccirillo earned the final singles title for the Panthers after a strong win over CMU’s Peggy Stankevich in her first match, 6-4, 6-0, and a 6-0, 6-0 shutout in the flight four title match against CMU’s Mai Otsuka.

Pitt junior Michele Petrasko returned to the lineup after being out with an injury all last season. Petrasko picked up her first win of the season in the first round of flight four, defeating Duquesne’s Renne Niklewicz, but fell to Otsuka in the next round.

The Panthers faired almost as well the next day during doubles play. In flight one doubles, Borza and Friedman notched another finals win for the Panthers with an 8-5 victory over Carnegie Mellon’s Amy Staloch and Mona Iyer.

“Staloch and Iyer are a very highly ranked team in Division III, and had beaten Borza and Friedman last year,” Dieffenbach said. “Borza and Friedman did a very good job in that match, a good job staying on the attack and being aggressive.”

Pitt duo Smith and Davies made it to the final match of flight two doubles, but lost to Duquesne’s Bezjak and McGowan, 8-0, for the only tournament title that the Panthers did not take home.

For the flight three doubles crown, Pitt freshman Anna Broverman teamed up with D’achille to defeat Carnegie Mellon’s Kelly Nakamura and Claire Weiss in an 8-4 win.

The Panthers ended the invitational on top, picking up the flight four doubles title. Petrasko and Piccirillo took down Otsuka and Stankevich for an 8-2 win and the flight four doubles crown.

“Many of our players executed shots well, found holes, made big plays and were tournament tough,” Dieffenbach said. “This was a great way to start out the season, and will help us get ready for our next tournament on the road at West Point.”

The Panthers will travel to West Point, N.Y., this Friday for the Women’s Eastern Collegiate Championships.