St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Pittsburgh
Red Storm Defeats BIG EAST Rival Pittsburgh, 5-2
1/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2011
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The St. John's women's tennis team picked up its first win of the season over conference rival Pittsburgh in a neutral site match at the Miller Tennis Center in Buffalo, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon. The Red Storm topped the Panthers by a margin of 5-2 in the match and improved to 1-1 on the season.
The Red Storm (1-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) opened play with wins at the No. 2 and 3 doubles positions to take the crucial doubles point and 1-0 lead in the match. Junior Joanna Zwirbulis and freshman Diamond Adams improved to 2-0 on the season with an 8-6 win in the No. 2 doubles spot. The upperclass duo of Nakita Austin and Jenny Yonkus improved to 1-1 on the season at No. 3 doubles with an 8-4 victory over Pitt's Karma Parbhu and Brittney Russell.
With a 1-0 lead following doubles play, the Red Storm won four of the six singles matches to clinch a 5-2 victory over the Panthers. Austin followed a solid performance in doubles action with a dominating 6-4, 6-1 win over Pitt's Russell in the No. 6 spot. Adams and Yonkus also picked up straight-set victories for St. John's, while Zwirbulis pulled off a come from behind 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win in the second flight to complete the win for the Red Storm.
The squad returns to action when it makes the short trip across the city to the Dick Savitt Tennis Center in Manhattan to face Columbia on Friday, Feb. 4 at 1:00 p.m. The Red Storm edged the Lions, 4-3, in last season's matchup.
St. John's 5, Pittsburgh 2
Singles competition
1. Elizabeth Adams (PITT) def. Nevena Selakovic (STJ) 6-4, 6-0
2. Joanna Zwirbulis (STJ) def. Gaby Catanzariti (PITT) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Jocelyn Lu (PITT) def. Ece Firat (STJ) 6-3, 0-6, 6-4
4. Jenny Yonkus (STJ) def. Kimmy Borza (PITT) 6-1, 7-6 (2-0)
5. Diamond Adams (STJ) def. Karma Parbhu (PITT) 7-5, 6-3
6. Nakita Austin (STJ) def. Brittney Russell (PITT) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Elizabeth Adams / Gaby Catanzariti (PITT) def. Ece Firat / Nevena Selakovic (STJ) 8-4
2. Joanna Zwirbulis / Diamond Adams(STJ) def. Jocelyn Lu / Kimmy Borza (PITT) 8-6
3. Nakita Austin / Jenny Yonkus (STJ) def. Karma Parbhu / Brittney Russell (PITT) 8-4
Match Notes:
Pittsburgh 1-2
St. John's 1-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,6,5,4,3,2)
Players Mentioned
