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Syracuse tennis returned to the courts in its 2024 season opener, defeating Army 7-0 on Saturday. The Orange last matched up with Army on Jan. 15, 2022, at home, winning 6-1 after losing just one singles match. On Saturday afternoon, Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated the singles rounds, sweeping all six games, and won all three doubles matchups to shut out Army (0-1, 0-0 Patriot League).

Syracuse’s Polina Kozyreva and Viktoriya Kanapatskaya started the day out with a No. 2 doubles 6-0 shut-out win over Emma Sy and Ylan Duong. Ines Fonte and Anastasia Sysoeva continued this dominance, winning 6-3 in the No. 3 doubles round against Isabella Brilliant and Paulina Feoli.

In the No. 1 doubles spot, Shiori Ito and Miyuka Kimoto faced Army’s Cooper Jackson and Paige Herremans. Ito and Kimoto began the game strong, leading 4-0. But the Orange’s momentum faded when the Black Knights won three consecutive games.

But Ito and Kimoto returned to action after determining they needed to be more aggressive in their play. They went on to win two straight games to win the set 6-3 and secure the doubles point 3-0.

SU head coach Younes Limam seeks to implement more starts throughout the Orange’s season.

“We are always trying to make sure we come in and play with intensity and a sense of urgency,” Limam said postgame. “We feel very excited about the season. We have a lot of experience (and) maturity. It makes it a lot easier to get going right off the bat.”

Following SU’s doubles point win, Kimoto faced Jackson in the No. 1 singles matchup, winning 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets. Then came Kozyreva’s No. 2 singles victory over Sy — winning 6-2 in the first set before a 6-0 sweep in the second. Kanapatskaya defeated Duong 6-1, 6-2 in the third singles round before Fonte matched up against Herremans in the No. 4 singles round, winning 6-0, 6-1.

Sophomore Sysoeva, the youngest player on the team in her first season with SU after transferring from Florida, then led Syracuse to their fifth singles win of the day, defeating Brilliant 6-2, 6-0.

“(Sysoeva is) going to make an impact right away in our lineup… She comes with a lot of experience,” Limam said.

The final singles matchup between Ito and Feoli would seal the deal for the Orange to sweep the day; Ito won 6-0 in the first set followed by a 6-1 victory in the second.

Limam has recently added a seventh player to the team – former JMU commit Constance Levivier. While the sophomore did not play in today’s match, Leviver, alongside a second new team member, plans to join the roster and compete with the Orange this season.

As the season continues, Limam hopes to increase Syracuse’s first-serve percentage and improve the team’s “record in doubles” to help with the pacing of their schedule amidst their preparation for ACC play.

The Orange will be back in action Sunday, Jan. 21, against Fordham, in continuation of their first double weekend of the season.

Published on January 20, 2024 at 4:24 pm

Contact Emma: ecstark@syr.edu