Women’s Tennis: Pitt loses two home conference matches over weekend

Follow @dan_sostek

Follow @pittnewssports

Pitt women’s tennis is still in search of the program’s first win in the Atlantic Coastal Conference as the Panthers (3-5, 0-5 ACC) fell on Friday to No. 13 Miami and Sunday to No. 15 Clemson, with each loss coming on their home court at Alpha Tennis and Fitness Center.

The Panthers’ match on Friday marked Pitt head coach’s Alex Santos’ first matchup against his former employer, as he had worked as an assistant coach for Miami since 2009 where he helped the Hurricanes win the program’s first ACC title in 2012.

Now at the helm of Pittsburgh’s team, Santos found himself on the short end of the match with his Panthers falling by a score of 6-1.

The lone bright spot of the afternoon came when freshman Audrey-Ann Blakely defeated Kelsey Laurente– currently the No. 40-ranked single player in the nation– in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.

But the other Panthers struggled, as all five other singles players lost in straight sets and all three doubles pairs fell as well.

The Panthers followed the loss with less success in their next match as they were shut out, 7-0, by the Clemson Tigers.

Despite the zero in the win column, Blakely nearly picked up another upset victory against a ranked opponent. After losing the first set to No. 33-ranked singles player Yana Koroleva, Blakely came back with a 7-6 win in the second set before losing 12-10 in a nailbiter of a third set.

Like Friday, Blakely was the only Panther to avoid a loss in straight sets and no doubles team was able to notch a victory.

The Panthers will get a much-needed break from conference play this upcoming Saturday when they take on their inter-city rival Duquesne Dukes, before returning to ACC play the following weekend with a pair of road matches against Boston College and Virginia.