MORGANTOWN W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team fell short at Pitt, 6-1, at the Alpha Tennis and Fitness Center, Saturday morning.
“I thought we had a very slow start today,” said coach Miha Lisac. “There were definitely some positives, and we battled back in some of the matches. Today was not very indicative in where the team is supposed to be right now. The girls battled well today, but we have to pick it up here in the next couple of weeks.”
The Mountaineers (0-1) found themselves in a hole early after surrendering the doubles point to the Panthers. Senior Hailey Barrett and sophomore Habiba Shaker clinched the first doubles match at the No. 1 position, as they defeated Pitt’s Amber Washington and LoladeOgungbesan by a score of 6-1. But, sophomores Lyn Yuen Choo and Yvon Martinez fell to Pitt’s Audrey Ann Blakely and Gabriela Rezende, 6-3, to tie the doubles point at one-all. Freshman Paula Goetz and sophomore Carolina Lewis suffered a 7-6 (10) setback to Pitt’s Callie Frey and Carina Ma in a hard-fought battle at the No. 3 slot to give the Panthers a one-point match advantage.
In singles action, Pitt (1-0) tallied three straight victories at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 1 position to secure the win.
Goetz fell to Pitt’s Ma in straight sets at the No. 3 slot (6-3, 6-0). At No. 4 singles, Lewis dropped her match against Pitt’s Frey by a score of 6-0, 6-3.
The match-clinching point came at court No. 1, where Barrett stumbled against Pitt’s Blakely in straight sets (7-6, 6-0).
Shaker captured the Mountaineers only victory of the day at No. 2 singles, as she beat Pitt’s Ogungbesan in straight sets (7-5, 7-5).
The Mountaineers are now 29-6 all-time against the Panthers.
West Virginia returns home for a doubleheader against Toledo and Cleveland State on Friday, Jan. 29, at Ridgeview Racquet Club. The match against Toledo is set to begin at noon, followed by Cleveland State at 4 p.m.
Singles Competition:
No. 1: Audrey Ann Blakely (Pitt) def.
Hailey Barrett (WVU), 7-6 (4), 6-0
No. 2:
Habiba Shaker (WVU) def. Lolade Ogungbesan (Pitt), 7-5, 7-5
No. 3: Carina Ma (Pitt) def.
Paula Goetz (WVU), 6-3, 6-0
No. 5: Gabriela Rezende (Pitt) def.
Lyn Yuen Choo (WVU), 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
No. 6: Clara Lucas (Pitt) def.
Yvon Martinez (Pitt), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Doubles Competition:
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3, 2); Singles (3, 4, 1, 2, 6, 5)
