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Miranda Ramirez was the only player to secure a point for Syracuse in a 6-0, 6-7, 10-4 tiebreaking match victory in Syracuse’s fourth consecutive loss this season. Syracuse (4-7, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) faced No. 29 Wake Forest (8-6, 4-3), falling to the Demon Deacons 6-1.

In doubles play, Polina Kozyreva and Sofya Treshcheva were promoted up from No. 2 to No. 1 after Kozyreva won from her singles match last weekend against No. 7 Florida State coming back from a 2-5 deficit in the first set.

The doubles pair opened with a 2-1 lead over Wake Forest, but went on to lose the following three games and found themselves in a 2-4 hole after one of Kozyreva’s service games was broken. Kozyreva and Treshcheva went on to only win one more game, losing the set to Carolyn Campana and Eliza Omirou, 3-6.

Coming off an impressive No. 3 doubles victory last weekend, Ramirez and Guzal Yusupova looked to build momentum and secure another victory against a ranked opponent.

Despite early struggles in her first service game, Yusupova battled with Ramirez to a 3-3 deadlock. Yusupova stepped up in her second service game, overcoming an earlier double fault and inconsistent backhands to put Syracuse up 4-3. Yusupova and Ramirez pushed to take another game, but Wake Forest’s Anna Campana and Peyton Pesavento kept fighting. The Demon Deacons took the next four games, stunning the Orange and claiming the doubles point for Wake Forest.

At No. 2 doubles, Natalie Novotna and Viktoriya Kanapatskaya came out strong, earning themselves a 3-0 lead with dominant serve and volley performances from both players. However, the pair only won one of the next four games and found themselves with only a marginal lead against Wake Forest’s Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth, 4-3. From there on out, service games were traded back and forth until Syracuse forced a tiebreak.

With the doubles point already secured for Wake Forest, the No. 2 doubles match remained unfinished, tied at 6-6.

Entering singles play at a disadvantage, Syracuse needed strong performances from several players. Going down the lineup, four of Syracuse’s six singles players lost in straight sets.

Ramirez secured Syracuse’s only point when she defeated Wake Forest’s Killingsworth 6-0, 6-7, 10-4 in a match tiebreaker. Ramirez breezed through her first set and almost capped off her victory in straight sets with a 5-3 lead in the second set. Killingsworth willed her way back into the match though, forcing and winning a second set tiebreak. In lieu of a third set, a match tiebreak was played because the overall match was already decided by this point.

Kanapatskaya fell just short in both of her sets, losing 5-7, 6-7 at No. 1 singles. In failing to force a third set and mount a comeback, Kanapatskaya was unable to return to winning ways after having her seven-match winning streak in singles snapped against Florida State.

Treshcheva managed to force a third set at No. 5 singles but was ultimately overpowered by Wake Forest’s Omirou, losing 1-6, 6-4, 1-6.

With four consecutive losses, Syracuse is now three games below .500 and will face in No. 12 NC State on March 21.

Published on March 19, 2021 at 9:47 pm

Contact Bryan: brbrush@syr.edu