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Louisville’s Chelsea Sawyer had Ines Fonte running back and forth to keep the ball inbounds. Fonte often slid and fell, which left her visibly frustrated. After a set break, Fonte slowly clawed her way back into the match while adjusting to Sawyer’s balanced style of play.

Fonte immediately used her dominant lower-hand volley to return the favor and force Sawyer under pressure, winning the second set 6-2.

“She needed a match like today to get over the hump,” head coach Younes Limam said.

Multiple rallies were made during the last set of the match, and fatigue visibly started to set in for both players. At one point, Fonte slid her shoes to come to a complete stop and return a shot, setting up Sawyer to over-hit the ball out of bounds, bringing cheers from the SU teammates and fans. Fonte would cap the match, winning the third set 7-5. Fonte’s win in singles play was pivotal in keeping SU in the match, as it tied the match 3-3. Fonte won her first singles match since March 6 versus Clemson.

“She played with a lot of passion and played for her teammates that aren’t here,” Limam said.

Syracuse (8-8, 2-7 Atlantic Coast) won its second conference match of the season 4-3 on Friday, jumping back to .500. It was the Orange’s first conference win since March 6 when they defeated Clemson 4-0.

The Orange started doubles play by trailing Louisville, 1-0, after Viktoriya Kanapatskaya and Fonte forfeited as Kanapatskaya was not present at the match, for unconfirmed reasons. Though the Orange surrendered an early deficit, they swiftly dug themselves out of it during doubles play. After missing Sunday’s loss to NC State, Sofya Treshcheva returned against the Cardinals and partnered with Shiori Ito, looking to grab their first win in doubles play since March 4.

Immediately, their play seemed more relaxed showcasing an up-tempo combination that included many powerful serves from Treshcheva and Ito’s strong play near the net. No matter how hard Louisville’s Sasha Gorchanyuk and Rhea Verma returned the favor, the Orange were able to maintain their lead.

One play, with SU leading 5-2, Verma and Treshcheva traded eight straight shots among each other from opposite corners. And even though Louisville grabbed that point, SU secured its game point. After a back-and-forth rally, Ito secured the win with a quick hit at the net, which forced Gorchanyuk to stretch her arm toward the ball, but she couldn’t make the return, as Ito and Treshcheva won the set 6-2.

Polina Kozyreva and Miyuka Kimoto also dominated their doubles match. With the win, Syracuse would have won consecutive doubles matches for the first time since mid-February. Early on, Kozyreva and Kimoto controlled the pace of the match, winning two straight sets to lead 5-2. Kozyreva then earned SU the game point with a high shot that barely fell in bounds, bouncing past Louisville giving the Orange the doubles point win to lead 1-0.

Louisville’s Tatiana Simova earned the first point during singles play as Treshcheva left the match early because of an injury. Ito’s deceptive strength along with her speed to control play near the net kept Gorchanyuk off-balance. Ito comfortably won both sets 6-2 to give SU its first singles point.

Then Kozyreva played against Andrea Di Palma, a former All-ACC third team selection. Di Palma dominated early on, winning the first set 6-3. Kozyreva was strong on her returns, but Di Palma had the edge with powerful shots that kept Kozyreva off balance. Di Palma led the second set early, 5-2, but in just three sets, Kozyreva’s ability to adjust her play style brought her back as she tied the match at five games apiece. But Di Palma won the next two sets to take the match 7-5.

With the overall score tied at 3-3, it was up to Kimoto to clinch Syracuse’s final singles point. Kimoto had no answer for Verma at first, after losing the first set 6-2 and looking visibly flustered. Limam talked to Kimoto in between breaks and told her to stand back, compose herself and start to play slower during the match.

“When things weren’t going her way, she needed to slow things down and let her opponent feel more pressure and think about things a bit more,” Limam said.

This strategy paid off as Kimoto adapted to Verma’s play on the fly, whether Kimoto took harder shots or lowered herself to get a shot in the corner. The second set became another back-and-forth match. Kimoto hit a shot towards the corner that left Verma short-handed, throwing a fist in the air at the same time as Limam as she secured the point. Then, Kimoto continued to control the match and ultimately defeat Verma as she won the third set 6-3 and completed her comeback win.

“It was a really tough situation for them because they didn’t have the whole team,” said Stefan Berg, a spectator and a 1974 Syracuse graduate. “They fought in tough circumstances, they played tough matches, and they came through. I was thrilled to see it.”

Kimoto’s win handed the Cardinals their eighth straight loss in ACC play.

“We had no other options but to show up, to play for each other and battle from start to finish,” Limam said.

Published on April 1, 2022 at 11:09 pm

Contact Irie: irharris@syr.edu