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It had been 15 years since Syracuse competed against UMass Amherst. Before entering Sunday’s match, the Orange led 3-0, most recently defeating the Minutewomen 6-1 at home on Feb. 20, 2009. With both teams now made up of entirely different players, UMass tested Syracuse to see if the Orange could uphold their win streak.

Syracuse entered its third double weekend of the season, opening its Atlantic Coast Conference campaign Saturday with a 5-2 victory over Boston College at Drumlins Country Club. While Syracuse lost the doubles point, it suffered its one singles loss of the day when BC’s Marice Aguiar defeated Syracuse’s Miyuka Kimoto (6-2, 6-0) in the No. 1 singles matchup.

Syracuse (6-1, 1-0 ACC) returned to action Sunday against UMass (4-2, 0-0, Atlantic 10), defeating the Minutewomen 4-0. UMass was coming off a week’s break after defeating Army 4-2 on Feb. 11.

After coming off a singles and doubles loss against BC, Kimoto was the only Syracuse player who did not compete in Sunday’s match.

“(It’s all about) strategy and getting our players enough rest,” head coach Younes Limam said when asked about his reasoning behind not playing Kimoto. “Going back-to-back can sometimes be taxing.”

At No. 2 doubles, Syracuse’s Constance Levivier and Anastasia Sysoeva fell to Ella Faessler and Amelia Tye 6-2. Though SU’s Viktoriya Kanapatskaya and Emilie Elde won 6-2 over Mariya Krasakova and Alexandra O’Brien in the No. 3 doubles spot.

The No. 1 doubles matchup was the most competitive of the day. SU’s Ines Fonte and Polina Kozyreva took on UMass’s Danielle Hack and Thamonpan Jonglertrakul. The match went back and forth and determined which team would secure the doubles point. Limam described doubles as “a sprint, not a marathon.”

“I’m very proud of how they responded under pressure,” he said postgame. “I think it came down to making a lot of returns…And being brave on those big points like the deuce points.”

The energy was high on both teams’ sidelines. The Minutewomen led 6-5, but Fonte and Kozyreva bounced back and won two consecutive games, winning the match 7-6.

“Doubles is one point. You win the doubles, that’s great you can carry that momentum. You lose the doubles, you have to have a short memory and move on and own your court,” Limam said.

Kozyreva’s speed in the backcourt and her strategic deep and shallow shots ultimately allowed SU to come out on top in the doubles matches. The graduate student continued to dominate in the No. 2 singles round, defeating Faessler 6-4 in the first set and 6-3 in the second.

Faessler shouted in frustration and placed her hands on her head midway through the first singles set. The sophomore, upset with her performance on the court, didn’t faze Kozyreva, who remained composed and confident in her abilities throughout the match.

In the No. 1 singles match, Elde won the first set 6-4 against Hack, while Sysoeva defeated Jonglertrakul 6-3 in the first set of the No. 3 singles bout. However, both matches were unfinished. On the other side of the courts, Syracuse’s Shiori Ito, who didn’t compete in the doubles matchups, faced Tye, winning both sets 6-2.

But the most robust performance of the singles matchups came from Fonte, one of two seniors on Syracuse’s squad. At the No. 5 singles against UMass’ Mariana Campino, Fonte swept her first set 6-0 and won her second 6-1.

Levivier trailed behind Krasakova throughout the first set of the No. 6 singles matchup, but she eventually won the first set 6-5. This match was the third that ended inconclusively.

“I’m very proud of how (the team) responded under pressure,” Limam said. “When things are close, you never know which way they’re going to go.”

Published on February 18, 2024 at 5:27 pm

Contact Emma: ecstark@syr.edu