Pitt Tennis Fall Season Recap
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Fall Statistics | Individual Match-by-Match
PITTSBURGH - Playing in some of the top collegiate tournaments on a regular basis during the fall season, the University of Pittsburgh tennis team proved that it is ready to take the next step in its second season in the ACC.
The Panthers had players reach the finals in two of the five tournaments they played in this year, while Audrey Ann Blakely and Lolade Ogungbesan advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Regional, a feat that had never been accomplished before at Pitt.
Overall, Pitt had a combined singles record of 43-62 and a doubled mark of 21-26. Amanda Wickman led the Panthers with a singles record of 8-7, while Molly Wickman (7-6) and Amber Washington (7-7) had the top individual doubles records.
The season started at the Hurricane Invitational, and despite a rained filled weekend, Amanda Wickman and Washington were able to take third place in doubles, while Ogungbesan and Katherine Castro went 2-1 in singles.
"This weekend was a solid start for Pitt tennis," said head coach Alex Santos after the invitational. "To have a couple of our players leave one of the best tournaments in the country with positive records in singles shows us that we are moving in the right direction."
Moving on to the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Northwestern, it was a memorable opening day for Amanda Wickman as she became the 16th player in program history to reach 100 career victories. She wasted little time achieving the milestone as she entered the tournament with 99 wins and defeated her first singles opponent, Yuriko Ono of Western Michigan, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Molly Wickman and Audrey Ann Blakely would reach the doubles finals of the tournament, but came up short and lost 8-4 in the championship match to DePaul's Kling/Lancranjan. Despite the loss, the duo finished the tournament with a 3-1 overall record.
"We take a lot of positives and confidence out of the Wildcat Invite," Santos said. "I can see the will and urgency to take Pitt Tennis to new heights is now a reality for this team. Every single player on the team played quality tennis at points throughout the weekend, and the road ahead tells us that we have to be more consistent keeping that same quality and then even elevating it in the big moments. This group of girls is learning how to fight, care, have pride in the program, but in a conference like the ACC we have to become faster and more efficient with the process."
The Panthers found tough sledding at the Bulldog Invitational hosted by Yale and suffered losses to the hosts, Brown and Dartmouth, but received a solid weekend from freshman Callie Frey who went 2-1 in both singles and doubles.
It was then on to the prestigious ITA Atlantic Regional hosted by Virginia Tech. While in Blacksburg, Molly Wickman played her way into the 64-player singles main draw by winning two matches on the opening day of competition. She joined Blakely and Ogungbesan as Pitt representatives in the tournament's main draw.
Despite not have singles success in the main draw, Blakely and Ogungbesan became the first Pitt doubles tandem to reach the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Regional in program history. The duo had to overcome some serious adversity as they won both of their first two matches in tie-breaks, defeating Towson's Williams/Shakhhnazarova and Virginia Tech's Butler Nandakumar by the scores of 8-7(5). VCU's Kvitishivilli/Barsheuskaya would ultimately eliminate Blakely and Ogungbesan 8-3 in the quarters.
"It's really great to see the girls buying in, learning and processing," assistant coach Emily Fraser said. "Our first ever quarterfinals appearance at the ITA Regional is evidence of success ahead if we keep pushing and understand what it is to truly sacrifice and work hard. We are proud of Lolade and Audrey Ann for pushing the program and the rest of the girls, and we know the team is still hungry for more."
In Pitt's final tournament of the season, the Harvard Invitational, Amanda Wickman made her way to the finals of the Flight B singles bracket but lost a very closely contested match to Harvard's Sylvia Li, 7-6(4), 6-4. Ogungbesan and Washington had a strong showing in doubles by going 2-1, but ultimately lost in the semifinals.
The Panthers are now off until mid-January when they open their spring season. Pitt will host a three-team tournament before traveling to Waco, Texas at the end of January to start their Win/Loss schedule with matches vs. Baylor and Tulsa.
Players Mentioned
