Bucknell trips up Panthers

The Pitt women’s tennis team played two tight matches over spring break and lost to both… The Pitt women’s tennis team played two tight matches over spring break and lost to both Bucknell and Nova Southeastern University.

The Bison downed Pitt 4-3 March 5 at the Oxford Athletic Club after they won the doubles point and secured their win in the crucial No. 4 singles match. Pulling ahead early, the Bison won matches at the No. 1 and 3 spots to capture the doubles point. Veronica Brown and Nadia Curcic picked up an 8-0 win against Pitt’s Emily Hughes and Jill Williams in the first doubles match. Annie Davies and Becky Emmers recorded a shutout win for the Panthers in No. 2 doubles over Tanya Sichko and Daniella Shtemberg (8-0).

Leah Friedmen and Carlie Smith ended their winning streak with an 8-6 loss to Bucknell’s Chelsea Mills and Rheanna Gaskin in No. 3 doubles.

Pitt faired better in singles play with three wins, but they lost the deciding match at No. 4. Shtemberg defeated Pitt’s Friedman at four singles to secure the Bucknell victory. After losing the first set, Friedman fought back to win a strong second set, but Shtemberg captured the third set to win the match 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

At the No. 1 singles, Pitt’s Williams lost to Curcic, 6-2, 6-4. On court two, Brown of Bucknell defeated Emmers, 6-2, 6-1, and Pitt’s Davies came out with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Sichko at No. 3.

Fighting back after losing the first set, Hughes took the next two sets for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 5 singles over Gaskin. Smith finished singles play on a good note with a strong 6-2, 6-3 win over Mills at the No. 6 spot.

Later in the week, the Panthers traveled to Hawks Kay, Fla., and took on No. 22, Nova Southeastern. Pitt lost 5-4 to the Knights Thursday afternoon after playing the match in nine-point format (where each doubles is worth one point).

The Panthers took one of three doubles points, with a win at the No. 2 spot by Emmers and Davies, who teamed up against Anna Schmitdmann and Simin Schmitz, for an 8-3 victory. Emmers and Davies hold a 7-3 doubles record, which has head coach George Dieffenbach impressed.

“They continue strong play and continue to lead the team with six doubles matches [won] in a row,” he said.

Emmers and Davies continued their good form in singles play, with victories at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively.

Emmers took on Nova’s Stefanie Gribi for a 6-3, 6-4 win. Davies, who now has a 9-7 record, defeated the Knight’s Jessica Homerlein, 6-2, 6-2.

“We’re seeing a lot of bright spots on the team,” Dieffenbach said. “Many players are coming through, but we need to see the whole team come through now.”

In No. 1 doubles, Tsippy Waterman and Homerlein defeated Williams and Hughes 8-4. In No. 2 doubles, Konita Jude and Smith lost 8-3 to the Knight’s Andrea Moncada and Gribi.

Williams lost at No. 1 singles to Waterman, 6-0, 6-1. Friedman, who holds an 11-7 record, fell to Moncada, 6-2, 6-1 in No. 4 singles. At No. 5 singles, Hughes maintains a 12-5 recordbut fell to Schmidtmann, 6-3, 6-0.

The Panthers’ Smith lit up the No. 6 singles again with a 7-6 (6), 6-2 win, defeating Schmitz for her fourth win in a row.

“It’s great to see a freshman make so many contributions,” Dieffenbach said. “In the last four matches she has yet to lose a set.”

With two close matches lost, Dieffenbach looks to make improvements that will tip the score in Pitt’s favor in the future.

“We need to come out on top of these matches. We are going to have to use smarter play and more confidence,” he said. “The second half of the season has come, which is the most important. This is conference play, and these are the matches we really need to win.”

The Panthers will be back in action at the Oxford Athletic Club when they take on St. Bonaventure Saturday at 3 p.m.