No. 24 Syracuse Upsets No. 9 Michigan in the ITA Kickoff Weekend

By Brad Klein

CitrusTV Tennis Reporter

OXFORD, Miss.- 2018 was one of the best seasons in Syracuse tennis history with a 4-3 upset over then-No. 3 Georgia Tech headlining a 17-8 record.

On Saturday, the Orange took on its highest nationally-ranked opponent since that match. No. 24 Syracuse (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated No. 9 Michigan (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) 4-2 in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Oxford, Mississippi. With this victory, Syracuse seems to have solidified its spot in the national spotlight.

The Orange controlled the doubles matches as they have all year. The No. 24th-ranked doubles pair of Sofya Golubovskaya and Sonya Treshcheva won their match, 6-3, with Michigan’s Alyvia Jones  and Brienne Minor. On the other court, reigning All-Americans Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirez took care of business by the same score against Kate Fahey and Giulia Pairone. The third doubles match did not finish.  Syracuse has now won the doubles point in all three duals this season.

In singles, the Wolverines did not intimidate the Orange on the other side of the net. No. 43 Gabriela Knutson dethroned No. 3 Kate Fahey 7-5, 6-4. Miranda Ramirez also upset No. 36 Chiara Lommer in a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory.

Syracuse led 3-2 heading into the fifth singles match after Sofya Golubovskaya lost a heartbreaking 9-7 tiebreak in the second and decisive set to Brienne Minor and UM’s Giulia Pairone handled SU’s Guzal Yusupova. It would down to Dina Hegab. Despite dropping her first set to Alyvia Jones, Hegab triumphed in the next two sets to win the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, and the upset victory for Syracuse

This was a step in the right direction for Ramirez as she has struggled on the third singles court this season, most recently losing her match against Columbia. These woes even date back to last year. She went 11-12 in singles play last spring, winning just two matches against nationally ranked opponents.

Syracuse faces Purdue in the ITA Kickoff Weekend finale on Sunday at 3 p.m.

bwklein@syr.edu | @BradKlein15