Syracuse drops the weekend in back-to-back losses to Virginia and Virginia Tech
Josh Richardson | @joshrichy_04
The longest road trip of the season for Syracuse Tennis did not get off to the start that the team may have wanted. After its upset against then #8 NC State last Friday, the Orange have now lost three straight, most recently against #5 Virginia and Virginia Tech this weekend.
Virginia
It started off as an uphill battle for SU. The Orange lost the doubles point as Natasha Subhash & Hibah Shaikh got the better of Anastasia Sysoeva & Polina Kozyreva 6-3, while Sara Ziodato & Meggie Navarro took down Shiori Ito & Constance Levivier 6-3. Following up doubles, singles was moderately competitive, but overall it was quick work for the Cavaliers. Sysoeva, Levivier, Ito, and Emilie Elde all lost in straight sets. On the bright side for Syracuse, after jumping up to 48th in the singles rankings, Miyuka Kimoto picked up another ranked win. The junior defeated 25th-ranked Hibah Shaikh in three sets (1-6, 7-4, 10-8). The other win for the Orange came from Polina Kozyreva, who also won in three sets (6-1, 2-6, 10-8). After the 5-2 loss, SU had a day off before it traveled down from Charlottesville to Blacksburg for a matchup against Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech
The story against the Hokies played out almost exactly like the Cavaliers. Tech beat the ‘Cuse 6-1 with the lone win for the Orange coming from Sysoeva, who took care of business in straight sets (7-5, 6-2). The doubles point was won by VT in performances by Semra Aksu & Erika Cheng (6-3), and Charlotte Cartledge & Ozlem Uslu (6-2). Kanapatskaya, Elde, and Kozyreva all dropped in straight sets, while Kimoto and Ito fought notably into the third, but couldn’t finish the job. Moving on for Syracuse is a trip out of Virginia and into the Sunshine State. SU travels first down to Tallahassee and then to Coral Gables for matchups against #42 Florida State and #19 Miami. SU and FSU begins Friday at 4:30, while the Orange and the Hurricanes play Sunday at Noon.
