Syracuse Drops Fifth-Straight Match to a Ranked Opponent vs. Wake Forest
By Brad Klein
CitrusTV Tennis Beat Reporter
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Syracuse hit the road once again for Winston-Salem on Sunday. They were riding their hottest stretch of the season, winning six of their last seven, but SU ran into an ACC juggernaut.
No. 15 Wake Forest (14-3, 5-1 Atlantic Coast) handed No. 32 Syracuse (10-6, 3-4 ACC) a 5-2 loss. It was a cruel reminder that ACC play can’t be taken lightly.
This reminder came early with heartbreaking losses on the doubles courts. Wake Forest stole the two decisive doubles sets in tiebreaks. Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirez lost 7-6 while Dina Hegab and Guzal Yusupova fell by the same score.
One silver lining for the Orange was the once-ranked doubles duo of Sofya Golubovskaya and Sonya Trescheva winning their second consecutive doubles set, 6-2. Sporadic injuries have sidelined the two since early February. But, they seem to have found their footing with a month left in the regular season.
Syracuse started on a high note as No. 42 Knutson scored first with a 6-2, 6-4 straight-set victory over No. 46 Emma Davis. No. 77 Ramirez followed suit with a quick 6-4, 6-3 win of her own. The Orange briefly led 2-1 before the Demon Deacons took control of the match.
Wake Forest swept the bottom four singles courts to win the duel. It started with Libi Mesh dropping her second set in a tiebreak. Eliza Omirou then stunned Golubovskaya after the SU sophomore had won the first set 6-1.
All of a sudden, Syracuse was staring into the barrel of another loss to a ranked opponent. Wake Forest pulled the trigger when Freshman Anna Brylin triumphed in a three-set marathon with Senior Hegab 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Yusupova’s loss finalized the score at 5-2.
This loss puts the Orange at 1-5 against ranked opponents on the year as they fall to eighth place in the ACC.
SU will have another test against a tough ACC opponent as Florida State heads north to Drumlins Country Club on Sunday, March 24 at 11 a.m.
bwklein@syr.edu | @BradKlein15
