Pitt Tennis off to Fast Start

Pitt's tennis program has been one of ups and downs since starting in 1976. Last season, the Panthers were only 10-12, but there was some optimism. They had a four-match winning streak, the longest since 2008, and also reached the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. This year, Pitt tries for their first winning year since 2010.

It's early, but things are off to a good enough start this year. The team has won both of their matches to start the season on a small roll. Last week, Pitt swept Morehead State, 7-0. On Friday, the Panthers beat Youngstown State 5-2 for a 2-0 season start. Pitt swept all three doubles matches, and lost only two of the five singles matches as their No. 1 player (Taylor Washington) and No. 4 player (Katherine Castro) fell in fairly close matches.

Pitt will be hard-pressed to compete in the ACC. The conference was possibly the best one in the nation with six Top 25 teams last year (seven if you counted Notre Dame). Still, the team is off to a good head start under new coach Alex Santos.

Next up for Pitt is a match against Robert Morris and Pitt will have a good chance to get to 3-0 on the season. The Colonials are only 1-3 with their sole win coming against Slippery Rock. Since then, they've suffered blowout losses to Akron 7-0, St. Bonaventure 6-1, and Niagara 6-1. That would be the team's best start since 2008-09 when they started the season 7-0.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics. Follow the author and manager/editor of Cardiac Hill @AnsonWhaley