Syracuse Eliminated From ACC Tournament In 4-0 Loss To Georgia Tech
By Sam Reis | @SamuelReisTV
Citrus TV Tennis Beat Reporter
CARY, N.C. – Zeynep Erman, the top singles player for Syracuse, returned to action after missing the last two matches of the regular season. However, the senior had to retire from her singles match just two games in and that put Georgia Tech in a comfortable position the rest of the way.
While doubles was very competitive, No. 7 Georgia Tech (14-8, 7-6 Atlantic Coast) took control in singles to defeat No. 10 Syracuse (11-10, 4-9 Atlantic Coast) 4-0 and advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
Starting off the dual, No. 3 doubles was the first match to conclude as Carol Lee and Rosie Garcia Gross defeated Polina Kozyreva and Miyuka Kimoto 6-2. In No. 2 doubles, Shiori Ito and Viktoriya Kanapatskaya had a solid outing against Monika Dedaj and Kate Sharabura, winning 6-3.
That meant the doubles point would be decided by No. 1 doubles, the last doubles match remaining. That contest was back and forth but the 85th-ranked duo of Kylie Bilchev and Alejandra Cruz did enough to take down Ines Fonte and Zeynep Erman, 6-4. The victory gave Georgia Tech the first point of the afternoon.
The good news for Syracuse was that it had six players for the match, with No. 102 Zeynep Erman back in the lineup. However, things took a turn for the worse early on in singles when Erman retired from her match just two games in against No. 13 Carol Lee. Lee was leading the first set 2-0 at the time of the retirement and that gifted the Yellow Jackets another point as they doubled the lead.
No. 2 singles was wrapped up very quickly as No. 28 Kylie Bilchev dominated from start to finish in a 6-1, 6-1 win over Miyuka Kimoto. Those outcomes in the higher-flight singles matches put the Yellow Jackets just one more win away from punching a ticket to the next round.
That was confirmed when No. 110 Alejandra Cruz took care of Polina Kozyreva 6-3, 6-0. The sophomore officially clinched the win for Georgia Tech with three singles matches still on court.
The decision was made to leave those last three matches unfinished. At that point in time, Viktoriya Kanapatskaya held a 6-3, 4-1 lead over No. 87 Mahak Jain in No. 3 singles. In the lower flight matches, Shiori Ito was leading Rosie Garcia Gross 6-3, 2-5 and Ines Fonte was ahead 6-4, 5-2 against Katie Sharabura. Considering those scorelines, the final result could have been much closer if those matches were played out. However, enough damage was done by the Yellow Jackets to end it with a 4-0 lead.
With the win, Georgia Tech advances to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament and faces No. 2 Duke on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s losing streak extends to nine and this could mark the end of its 2023 campaign. SU will find a definite answer to that on Monday, May 1st when the NCAA Tournament field is announced.
