Tennis goes inside to pick up second victory of the fall

While the weather outside was frightful, the fire inside was so delightful for the Pitt tennis… While the weather outside was frightful, the fire inside was so delightful for the Pitt tennis team last Saturday against Mercyhurst.

The Panthers’ excitement for the match was evident, as Pitt finished the fall season in impressive fashion, winning 6-1.

“We were really fired up for the match,” Becky Emmers said about the Panthers’ enthusiasm.

“Today was a really good result for our team. It took us to 2-0 for the fall season, which I am really pleased with,” head coach George Dieffenbach said.

The match was played indoors at the Oxford Racquet Club in Monroeville because of Saturday’s inclement weather.

“This was our second match together and I felt that we were better as a team,” Emmers said.

Doubles competition opened the match with Pitt winning two of the three matches, resulting in one point toward the overall match score.

The team of Nikki Borza and Laura Pegula led the way at No. 1 doubles, where they won a tight match over Alison Hughes and Lindsay Zimm, 9-7.

During the match, Pitt faced two match points at 6-4, but was able to hit some key volleys and worked each point to fight back and take the game and match.

At No. 2 doubles, Jena Fiore and Hayley Hughes were defeated by Natalie Paparella and Joanna Olmstead, 8-1. Fiore and Hughes had a difficult time moving from No. 3 to No. 2 doubles against a strong group of doubles teams from Mercyhurst.

Jill Williams and Emmers at No. 3 doubles had never played a match together, but were able to defeat Tori Trombella and Lauren Dujanovich, 8-4.

Williams’ and Emmers’ lack of experience together came through as they started the match down 4-1. But the girls came together at that point and never let up from there, winning the next seven games to take the match.

The doubles teams were flipped around for this match to prepare for the ITA Championship in Massachusetts this weekend, where Williams will be the Pitt representative in singles and the team of Borza and Pegula in doubles.

“The wins in doubles were big even with the unusual team combinations, and it helped the team relax for the rest of the match,” Dieffenbach said.

Singles began with Pitt leading 1-0. The momentum carried over as the team won five of the remaining six matches.

At No. 1 singles, Williams continued her impressive play by overpowering Mercyhurst’s Hughes, 6-0 and 6-3. The strong showing for Williams’ strong showing should be encouraging in preparation for this weekend’s tournament featuring the best collegiate players from New England to Virginia.

Borza, at No. 2, played a match where she controlled each point and used great shot placement to win her match in straight sets over Paparella, 6-2 and 6-3.

Pegula, who played at the No. 3 spot, had missed two weeks of practice after she had her wisdom teeth removed and only came back to practice the week of the match.

Her time off proved to be troubling in her match, where she lost to Zimm, 5-7 and 5-7.

At No. 4, Emmers contributed a win against Olmstead, 6-2 and 6-4. Each player stayed in it with strong service games, but Emmers was able to break her opponents serve late in the second set to take the match.

At No. 5, Pitt’s Hughes took on Dujanovich after she moved up from the No. 6 spot after Trombella withdrew due to illness. The change proved to be difficult for Dujanovich because Hughes handled her easily, 6-3 and 6-2.

Scheduled at the No. 6 match for Pitt was Jena Fiore who won by default when Dujanovich moved to No. 5.

“The girls played up to their potential in singles and played hard and aggressive,” Dieffenbach said. “We really got consistent and hit a good amount of winners. We were consistent from the baseline, but when we needed to, we pounded the ball and got aggressive.”