Pitt tennis team drops two Big East contests

The Pitt women’s tennis team lost a lot this weekend.

They lost two important conference… The Pitt women’s tennis team lost a lot this weekend.

They lost two important conference matches, a key player to injury and all hopes of qualifying for the Big East Championship.

The Panthers (7-8 overall, 0-3 Big East) fell to Seton Hall and Rutgers over the weekend, ending a four-match winning streak.

Seton Hall 7, Pitt 0

On Friday, at the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, Pa., the Panthers suffered an early loss in the match when Pitt’s Becky Emmers had to retire for the day because of an injury. Emmers was teamed up with Annie Davies at the No. 2 doubles spot against Ebru Burduroglu and Jennifer Seide, when she endured a knee injury, causing the match to be forfeited.

“She went back to hit an inside-out forehand, and the knee just buckled on her and she went down,” head coach George Dieffenbach said. “It came at a tough time because [Emmers and Davies] were winning their match (3-2).”

Dieffenbach said that if they had taken the doubles point that the match might have played out differently. He also explained that Emmers’ injury hurt the team’s depth.

“It cost us because everyone had to move up one spot and play where they are not used to playing,” Dieffenbach said. “Our team played hard, but could not overcome the loss of our No. 2 player.”

Emmers and Davies ended a 10-match winning streak with the loss. Emmers was also out for the second match of the weekend and was scheduled to get an MRI yesterday.

In the first doubles match, Pitt’s Jill Williams and Emily Hughes took on Viviana Figueroa and Iva Gyurgina, and lost 8-2. Leah Friedman and Carlie Smith dropped the third doubles match 8-6 to the Pirates’ Catalina Isaza and Lorell Zamot.

The Pirates continued to cruise over the Panthers in singles play, claiming all six matches. Williams took on Figueroa at the No. 1 spot and lost 6-2, 6-1. Davies filled in at the No. 2 spot and lost to Burduroglu, 7-5, 6-1. Friedman dropped the No. 3 match to Sein, 7-5, 6-2, and Hughes lost at No. 4, 6-1, 6-3 to Zamot. Smith stepped up to the No. 5 spot and ended an eight-match winning streak with a loss to Isaza, 6-2, 6-3, and in the final singles match, Pitt’s Konita Jude was defeated 6-1, 6-1 by Gyurgina.

Dieffenbach was proud of the way the Panthers handled adversity in the match, including the loss of a key teammate and heading up against a very strong team.

“Jennifer Seide was the only American player for Seton Hall. They have a strong international team,” Dieffenbach said. “These players were picked from all over the world, many times one of the best from their country.”

Rutgers 4, Pitt 2

The following day, the Panthers traveled to the Western Area YMCA in Moon Township to take on their second Big East opponent of the weekend. The match, which was against Rutgers, was also considered a home match for the Panthers, who do not have their own tennis facilities on the Pitt campus.

“We are often left at the mercy of different facilities and their schedules, some of which are over an hour away, because we do not have home courts at Pitt,” Dieffenbach said.

The Panthers dropped the Saturday match 4-2 against Rutgers, another predominately international team. With the loss to the Scarlet Knights, Pitt can no longer qualify for the Big East Championship.

Rutgers took the doubles point, clinching the first two matches and forcing the third match to end early. Williams and Hughes teamed up at No. 1 doubles, and lost to Rutgers’ Ketevan Shmakova and Katrina Elder-Bush, 8-4. Friedman and Smith played Alina Balasa and Anela Dujsic at No. 2, and lost 8-4. Jude and Davies played Helen Magomedova and Lauren Edelschein in a match that ended 7-4 (did not finish).

The Panthers had more success in singles, clenching two of the matches. Davies defeated Dujsic in a three-set marathon and tie-breaker that ended 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

“Annie hustled like I’ve never seen her hustle,” Dieffenbach said. “She played a great match. It was her best performance of the year so far.”

Smith, at the No. 5 spot, also won her match, 6-1, 6-2, against Shmakova.

“Shmakova was a good player,” Dieffenbach said, “but Carlie just dominated her.”

At No. 1 singles Williams lost to Elder-Bush, 6-3, 6-1. Friedman was defeated in the third singles match by Balasa, 6-1, 6-2. Hughes played at No. 4, lost the first match, came back to take the second match, and was up 4-1 in the third, but was defeated 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, by Magomedova.

Jude played at the No. 6 spot against Edelschein, but the match ended 3-6, 2-3 (did not finish).

While the Panthers’ goal of qualifying for the Big East Championship is now out of reach, the team still has five matches ahead of it, including an away match tomorrow against Duquesne.

“The season now boils down to shooting for a winning record,” Dieffenbach. said. “It is definitely something we can do.”