Hughes takes final match to seal win over Duquesne

With its No. 2 player out because of injury, the Pitt women’s tennis team pulled together… With its No. 2 player out because of injury, the Pitt women’s tennis team pulled together for a win over Duquesne Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers (8-8 overall, 0-3 Big East) beat the Dukes 4-3 in an exciting match that came down to the very last set.

“It doesn’t get any closer than the [match] today,” head coach George Dieffenbach said.

Without standout Becky Emmers, who was lost to injury last week, Pitt found itself tied at three with its cross-town rival. The Panthers’ Konita Jude, playing at the No. 6 spot against Duquesne’s Ciara McDermott, provided the decisive point with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) win, pulling out a huge win for the Panthers in the tiebreaker.

“[Emily] Hughes had just picked up our third point at the same time that Jude was in the tiebreaker. It all came down to Jude’s match, and she got the job done,” Dieffenbach said.

The Panthers began the match with two doubles wins, clinching the doubles point, which Dieffenbach called “an extremely important component of the win.”

Hughes and Jill Williams played at No. 1 doubles and defeated Jacqueline Hughes and Alicia McNamara 8-2.

“It was a strong showing,” Dieffenbach said. “Starting the match off with a win really got the team going.”

Leah Friedman and Carlie Smith, at No. 2 doubles, took on the Dukes’ Johanna Bezjak and Julie Wagner and lost 8-6. At the No. 3 spot, Pitt’s Annie Davies and Jude teamed up for a tight win over Duquesne’s McDermott and Sarah Shanahan.

“They really pulled it out for us. Davies hit a lot of winning volleys, and Jude had a lot of ground strokes, which made a combined effort for a great win,” Dieffenbach said.

Up 1-0, the Panthers started out the singles matches slowly, dropping points at the top two spots. Williams played at No. 1 against Bezjak and lost 6-0, 6-3 while Davies played at second and lost to Hughes 6-3, 6-1. Her record still stands at 14-9, however.

Friedman turned things around at the No. 3 spot with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Wagner.

The freshman increased her record to 15-10 and impressed Dieffenbach with aggressive offensive play.

Smith (14-8 overall) finished next, dropping a match at No. 5 against Alicia McNamara, 6-3, 6-2. Hughes played at No. 4 and tied up the match with a close win against Shanahan that ended 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.

“It was an exciting match,” Dieffenbach said of Hughes’ match. “She had a strong third set where endurance and strength really mattered. Fitness was a big factor in her win. Her conditioning paid off.”

Hughes now holds a 17-7 overall record for the season.

The Dukes beat Pitt last year 5-2 with many of the same players, making the win a little sweeter for the Panthers. Dieffenbach was pleased with the way that the Panthers filled in for the loss of Emmers and got back to a .500 record. Emmers will be out for the rest of this season after being diagnosed with tears of her MCL and ACL.

“She will have surgery in about a month and then rehab,” Dieffenbach said. “We don’t expect her back until December or January. But the main season only starts in January and February, and she will be able to get into that.”

The Panthers will also have another player out until next spring for surgery. Freshman Michele Petrasko will have hip surgery for a torn labrum and is also expected to be out until December.

“Duquesne is always a strong team, and it was a battle the whole way,” Dieffenbach said of the win on Wednesday. “It was a team effort. We had to be in it 100 percent, play with intelligence and close it out with heart. The players who won today did just that.”