Women's Tennis Defeats Villanova

April 20, 2015

KINGSTON, R.I. - The Providence College women's tennis team earned their second BIG EAST Conference victory of the season on Sunday, April 19 as they bested the visiting Villanova Wildcats by a score of 5-2.

The Friars began the day by taking the doubles point over the Wildcats. Freshman Nicole Cyterski and junior Hannah Zangari blanked Paulina Bajet and Linley Busby 8-0 out of 3rd doubles. The Friar tandem was the more consistent team throughout, finishing points with passing shot winners and solid net play. Cyterski and Zangari also successfully extended numerous rallies, which forced the Wildcats into errors at net. With the win, the duo improved their record to 8-6 on the year.

The Friars captured the doubles point soon after with DeLuca and Pitocco's 8-6 win over Samantha Schafer and Kate Pettee in the No. 2 doubles match. After a slow start in which the Friar team trailed 4-1, the sophomores picked up their level of play by improving their consistency and playing smart tennis. DeLuca's forehand was as dominant as ever, and Pitocco was a model of consistency, making shots from every position on the court.

In the No. 1 doubles match, Alana Prinos and Emma Burgess dropped an 8-6 decision to Tori Smyth and Victoria Martinez.

Already holding a 1-0 lead, the Friars won 4 of the first 5 singles matches to capture another conference win. Villanova began singles play with Schafer's 6-0, 6-0 win over DeLuca out of the 3rd singles position. However, the Friars would strike back as Burgess rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win against Villanova's Alexandra Krogius in the 4th singles match. Burgess continued her stellar freshman season, as she dominated the baseline rallies and maintained control of the match throughout.

The Friars upped their lead to 3-1 when Pitocco notched her 11th victory of the season with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Bajet out of the 5th singles position. The sophomore continued her strong weekend with another quality performance out of the critical 5th singles spot, a position that had troubled the Friars earlier in the spring season. Pitocco's consistency allowed her to out-steady Bajet on a day in which strong winds affected match play.

The Friars clinched the victory with Prinos' 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 triumph over Smyth in the battle for 1st singles. "The key for me today was to make sure that I stayed confident in my game even when some of the points or games weren't going my way," stated the Friars' junior after the match. "I just wanted to make sure that I continued to keep myself within striking distance, and I'm glad that I was able to take control of the match at the end." With the win, Prinos improved to 7-7 in singles play during the spring season, including a 2-1 mark out of the difficult first singles position.

The pivotal moment for the Friars came with freshman Brooke Burnside's 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 win over Pettee in the 6th singles match. In just the second dual match action of her career, Burnside turned in a quality performance, punishing her groundstrokes from the baseline and demonstrating excellent court coverage throughout the match.

In the No. 2 singles match, Cyterski turned in a solid performance but fell to Martinez 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in what was a highly competitive contest throughout.

With the win, the Friars improved to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in Big East Conference play. The team will now turn its attention to the BIG EAST Conference Championships, which will run from Wednesday, April 22 through Sunday, April 26.

GO FRIARS!

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Players Mentioned

Emma Burgess

Brooke Burnside

Nicole Cyterski

Alana Prinos

Hannah Zangari

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