Two Losses in the Tar Heel State sent Syracuse back to Central New York 7-4.
Josh Richardson | @joshrichy_04
It was a tough weekend for Syracuse Tennis. For its first real road stretch of the season, the top two opponents on the docket were the top 20 teams in the nation. #18 Duke had the first crack at SU. The Blue Devils won handily 6-1. The lone bright spot Friday night for the Orange was sophomore Anastasia Sysoeva. The transfer from Florida won in straight sets and made sure Syracuse grabbed at least one win. Outside of her, it was rocky for SU. Shiori Ito lost only her third match of the season 0-6, 0-6. Polina Kozyreva also dropped her third, and so far this season every time SU has lost overall, the grad student drops her individual match as well. If the Orange want to go far and advance this program to new heights this season, they need their star #2 player to keep winning.
Sunday for Syracuse was no better. The Orange were tasked with facing the #4 team in the nation, and the reigning national champs: UNC. It didn’t go well for SU. A 7-0 defeat marks its worst loss of the season thus far. Doubles ended after two quick Tar Heel wins with #1 doubles not finishing (UNC lead 5-3 anyway). Singles were tough for Syracuse. Everyone except Junior Miyuka Kimoto lost in straight sets. Kimoto lost in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 4-10 (tiebreaker). Overall, a tough weekend for Syracuse Tennis but now, they get a homestand. Three straight matches back at Drumlins, a place they are 6-1 in this season. Up first is Buffalo on Thursday at 3. Follow @joshrichy_04 for live updates throughout the match.
