SU Tennis Wins Revenge Over Columbia 5-2

Masha Tritou fell to 3-4 in the second set after dropping the first. Then, she got a shoulder rub.

“I asked Brad our trainer to come… I was hurting a little bit in my arm,” Tritou said. So then Brad came and then he put this magic cream. And then it helped and the pain went away so I could focus on my match.”

Focus, she did. As the third set went on, Tritou reached a new level, culminating in a string of four points that all ended with unreturned forehands. For Tritou, victory was especially sweet. Tritou lost to Ali Pollack in last year’s match against Columbia.

Tritou clinched the match for Syracuse along with Dina Hagreb on the next court over. Hagreb technically won her match before Tritou, giving Syracuse its fourth point, but Tritou converted a match point about 15 seconds later.

The 5-2 home win this Sunday morning was a statement match for the Orange, which lost to Columbia last season 6-1. Only Gabriela Knutson won her match against Columbia last year. She cruised again in this one, 6-0, 6-0. Not to mention some brilliant work on the doubles court.

The veteran pairing of Knutson and Miranda Ramirez showed their savy up 4-3 with triple break point. Columbia kicked up a serve to Knutson’s backhand, which she took early, down the line, and with scorching pace. The net player didn’t have a chance. Knutson turned to her partner and pointed to her brain in acknowledgement of Ramirez, a wide smile on her face.

“I gave her the sign to go down the line because I knew at that point she wasn’t going to hit a hard serve and I knew that the other girl would not be prepared and I obviously trust Gabby’s shot.”

Ramirez and Knutson won 6-3. The Orange couldn’t preserve its undefeated record, however.

Libi Mesh fought back valiantly after dropping the first set 6-0, but eventually succumbed in the third set for a 0-6, 6-2, 2-6 defeat. SU’s other loss came via forfeit after SU head coach Younes Limam thought it unwise for Anna Shkudun to continue playing after Syracuse had already clinched the victory.

The victory is even more important considering freshman Sofya Golubovskaya was out with injury. Golubovskaya said her leg was feeling better, but evidently Limam didn’t think she was healthy enough to play.

“Hopefully she’ll practice on Tuesday,” Limam said.

While the Orange’s start has been impressive, it has yet to hit the road. Syracuse was 2-7 in road matches last season and 0-2 on neutral sites. That includes a 6-1 loss at Virginia in 2017. Only Miranda Ramirez won her match in Charlottesville. But if Sunday’s match was any indication, last year’s results won’t dictate Syracuse’s 2018 campaign.