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For the second straight season, Syracuse is off to a 4-0 start. The last time the Orange had back-to-back 4-0 starts to the season was the 2018-19 season and 2019-20. Unlike 2023, the Orange have only dropped one match as opposed to four in the first four games last season.

Postgame Syracuse head coach Younes Limam praised his team’s demeanors of the game versus Cornell that he said was the most competitive match of the season thus far.

“(I was) just congratulating them on their effort, attitude and enthusiasm,” Limam said. “I think those three things are really important to us…The longer, the more competitive the matches are, the more things that we noticed that we need to work on.”

Syracuse (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued its strong start to the season, defeating Cornell (2-1, 0-0 Ivy League Conference) 6-1 on Sunday. The Orange have been dominant through their first four games, dropping its first match of the season against the Big Red.

Limam used the combination of Emilie Elde and Miyuka Kimoto for the first doubles match, while combining Shiori Ito with Viktoryia Kanapatskaya and Ines Fonte with Polina Kozyreva.

The Kozyreva-Fonte pair helped Syracuse win 6-2 over Jenny Wong and Martina Marica. But the suspension remained on the court while the other two combinations were facing troubles that came from Cornell.

With the determination to secure the double point which Limam emphasized at the beginning of the semester, Syracuse pushed to tiebreakers and survived from the adversity.

“(I am) pleased on how we responded, ” Limam said. “I thought we had moments where things were very close and couldn’t be prouder of how calm we stayed…I thought the team did a tremendous job.”

Despite trailing early on, Kimoto and Elde tied it 5-5 forcing a tiebreaker, Kimoto and Elde before coming back to win 7-5.

In the meantime, Ito and Kanapataskaya set the tone, establishing a 4-0 lead. But Cornell’s Alexandra Savu and Michelle Ryndin won five straight games to lead by one. But SU’s duo then fought back recording minimal errors, winning 7-6.

“We stayed positive all the time and we stayed focused. And then we had good communication (between) each other. So, it works,” Ito said.

In the singles matches, Elde dropped her sets 3-6 and 4-6 against Ryndin. Constance Levivier — who made her collegiate debut on Saturday against St. Bonaventure — defeated her opponent in straight sets.

Anastasia Sysoeva won the first set 6-0, but then trailed Wong, trailing 1-2. Limam said he talked to Sysoeva during the break and reminded her to utilize her strength to her advantage. She then finished strong, closing out the game to win 6-4.

“It’s never easy to close a match. I couldn’t be prouder of how she finished her match,” Limam said.

Ito and Kozyreva dominated their opponents respectively in straight sets and helped Syraucse secure the win. Kimoto also took care of her business as a No. 1 single player. She took down Lauren Stein 6-4 and 6-1 in straight sets.

Published on January 28, 2024 at 4:59 pm