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Polina Kozyreva and Ines Fonte found themselves down 5-4 on the No. 1 doubles court against Georgia Tech’s Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura. As the two forced an error from Lee on the Yellow Jackets’ match point, Kozyreva and Fonte stormed back to push the pivotal doubles matchup to another game.

Kozyreva kept finding angles on her returns and attempted to confuse the pace of the Yellow Jackets’s top tandem. But SU’s effort ultimately fell short, dropping 7-5 in No. 1 doubles.

Syracuse (7-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost 4-3 to Georgia Tech (6-4, 2-0 ACC) Sunday at Drumlins Country Club in its third conference contest of the season. Kozyreva and Fonte’s loss, coupled with the singles struggles, led the Orange to their first ACC defeat in 2024.

Kozyreva and Fonte established chemistry early in their doubles match, with Kozyreva turning in strong returns from the back while Fonte stayed alert near the net. Despite having a sore shoulder during the match, Fonte forced errors through her serve.

“(Fonte) being willing to step up for the team just speaks volume of her character and how much she cares about the team. We’re so fortunate to have her,” said SU head coach Younes Limam after the match. “I think we put (Lee and Sharabura) in some very uncomfortable situations. (I’m) very pleased with how they fought.”

Shiori Ito and Miyuka Kimoto stepped up on the No. 2 doubles court, defeating Scarlett Nicholson and Given Roach 6-3. But Syracuse dropped the doubles point as Emilie Elde and Viktoriya Kanapatskaya lost 3-6 to Kylie Bilchev and Alejandra Cruz.

Turning to the singles, Kimoto chased the first point for Syracuse while the team was trailing 2-0. She dominated each rally, dropping five games in a straight sets victory. And after winning the first set 6-3, Kanapataskaya secured the Orange’s second win, defeating Cruz 6-4 in the latter game.

Ito weathered a long battle in her singles match against Mahak Jain. She dropped the first set but forced a tiebreaker in the second. Ito then calmed herself down and minimized her errors in the final set, winning 6-3 to obtain the third singles point for Syracuse.

“I think first set my opponent just made the ball more than me,” Ito said. “So I need to keep patient all the time. I just keep fighting (for) all the ball.”

But the Orange failed to replicate their comeback efforts from Friday’s matchup against Clemson. Elde was dominated by Lee in two sets. Anastasia Sysoeva also dropped two sets to Sharabura despite a three-game lead during the opening set. Though Kozyreva pushed her singles match to another tiebreaker, she lost 2-6 to Nicholson, sealing a tough loss for Syracuse.

Compared to last year’s matchup when Georgia Tech dominated Syracuse 6-1, the Orange progressed impressively on the scoreboard, showcasing their improved experience and resilience across the board.

“Last year we played them (Georgia Tech) at their place. And honestly, it wasn’t competitive,” Limam said. “(This year) we’re making progress. I think we were like where we were at right now.”

Published on February 25, 2024 at 5:18 pm