By Evan Weber
Sports Editor
The Franciscan University women’s tennis team surged into a resounding 7-0 victory against the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. The match occurred at 4 p.m. on Friday Sept. 20 in Steubenville.
The Barons came into this match ready to redeem themselves after a surprising 2-5 loss to Washington and Jefferson on Tuesday. While the Greensburg Bobcats are a historically formidable team in the AMCC, Franciscan has been a thorn in their side, holding a 13-2 record against them all time.
The Barons immediately held in an advantage in doubles play as the Bobcats did not have enough players for a third team. Greensburg had to forfeit one of their doubles matches, meaning the Barons only needed to win one match to take the doubles point. Franciscan would go above and beyond by taking both matches 6-1.
With the Barons already having a point, singles play became a breeze. Playing in the #1 spot, junior Claire Cardie initially found difficulty obtaining a foothold, losing her first set 6-3. But Cardie stormed back by winning her second set 6-1 and the tiebreaker 10-3. Senior Olivia Colby, junior Kina Ehlers and sophomore Jordan Beltavski all won their sets, making it a clean 7-0 victory for the Barons.
While this match was outside of the PAC, the decisive win helped the Barons resume their dominant play. Franciscan holds a 1-1 conference record and a 5-1 record overall. The Barons will look to continue their resurgence in their next home game, which will be against Saint Vincent College at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23.