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For the first time since its upset victory on March 15 over then-No. 8 NC State, Syracuse tennis took home a win. SU (10-10, 4-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) swept Louisville (4-15, 0-10 ACC) 7-0 on senior day. The victory ended a six-game losing streak, all of which came against ACC opponents.

“I feel very happy … (the win) gives us confidence to push on for the ACC tournament, maybe it will even give us enough confidence to win the tournament and go to nationals,” SU senior Polina Kozyreva said postgame.

Doubles saw a long-awaited return to form for the Orange. Syracuse secured the doubles point against the Cardinals, something it hadn’t accomplished since March 7 versus Buffalo. The win also marks SU’s first doubles point against an ACC opponent in 2024.

Syracuse played the same doubles teams against Louisville as it did against Notre Dame Friday. Emilie Elde and Shiori Ito faced Louisville’s Ibifuro Clement and Germany Davis in the No. 3 spot. The Cardinals’ duo proved to be too much for Ito and Elde, winning 6-3 to jump out to an early doubles lead. For Syracuse, it looked like a repeat of its recent doubles woes. Yet, the next two matches proved to reverse SU’s fortune.

Anastasia Sysoeva and Constance Levivier held the No. 2 spot for the Orange, matching up against Berta Miret and Elena Noguero. SU dominated the Louisville duo, winning 6-2 and setting the stage for a winner-take-all doubles match in the No. 1 role.

Syracuse’s strongest duo throughout the season — Viktoriya Kanapatskaya and Miyuka Kimoto — faced off against Louisville’s Allie Gretkowski and Lika Peresypkina. The two sides battled back and forth after the first two matches ended in quick succession. Exactly one month after its last doubles win, Kanapatskaya and Kimoto secured a 6-2 victory and put SU in the lead at 1-0.

Singles proved to be where Syracuse pulled away. Kimoto faced Peresypkina again in the No. 1 singles match, but this time, it was all Kimoto. She continuously forced her opponent into tough positions, often resulting in a weak return that would crash into the net. The first set ended 6-1 in favor of Kimoto and a scary fall from the junior to begin the second set did not slow her momentum. A quick 6-0 second set saw Kimoto’s match end before Elde’s No. 2 match finished its first set.

Elde played Louisville’s Davis in a tightly contested affair. As the matches around them began to wrap up, Elde and Davis played on. Their first set ended 7-6 in favor of Elde after a long contest. In the second set, Elde started down 2-1 before storming back to take the next two games. From there, Elde took over, winning the second set 6-4 and ending the day’s slate of matches.

Sysoeva and Ito won their matches through equally controlling performances. Ito won her match 6-2, 6-2, against Noguero. While Sysoeva won hers after Gretkowski abandoned after going 4-1 down in the second set. The two matches were icing on the cake for SU, which had already won the day on the back of its senior performances.

The final matches at Drumlins Country Club for Kanapatskaya and Kozyreva proved to be favorable for the Orange. Matched up against Miret, Kanapatskaya won her match in straight sets, taking the first one 6-1. The second set was more of a challenge for the senior as Miret gained some momentum after a few uncharacteristic Kanapatskaya mistakes. But, the second set ended 6-3 and gave SU another crucial point.

For Kozyreva, her final home game was another dominant win. Winning her sets 6-2, 6-3, Kozyreva helped secure a win in Syracuse’s regular-season finale. The lone senior to not play was Ines Fonte. After suffering a leg injury against Notre Dame, Fonte sat out her final match at Syracuse.

“Unfortunately, as much as we wanted to see her play … physically she was not ready to go out and compete,” said SU head coach Younes Limam, before adding that Fonte may be available to play in the ACC tournament in two weeks. “We’re very optimistic … I think the good news is that we’re not competing next weekend.”

For Syracuse’s three seniors — Kozyreva, Fonte and Kanapatskaya — Sunday was a bittersweet send off. Kozyreva reflected on the loss of the seniors for the team next season, while also detailing the advice she’ll provide to SU’s younger players going forward.

“Never get satisfied with yourself,” Kozyreva said. “Look for improvements – keep pushing and you never know where it will lead you.”

Published on April 7, 2024 at 4:21 pm