Even after Gabriela Knutson and partner Miranda Ramirez steamrolled the No. 1 doubles team in the nation, 6-2, Syracuse still needed one more win to earn the doubles point.

All eyes turned to court one, where Dina Hegab and Masha Tritou trailed. The pair had squandered the 3-2 lead they had early in the match, and now had to serve to keep themselves in the set. Tritou used her lanky 6-foot frame to control the net. The combination of Hegab’s aggressive baseline play and Tritou’s net control produced three volley winners for the Orange to level the set at 5-all.

Moments later, the pair played yet another pressure filled point as the 11th game of the set went to a deciding deuce point. Hegab forced a missed volley, and SU went ahead for good. Despite the numerous long rallies, Hegab and Tritou won almost every crucial point in the set. On an 18-ball rally, they clinched the doubles point as the ball floated beyond the baseline.

After the heartbreak of two close 4-3 losses decided in the final match earlier this season, Knutson and SU closed out a program-defining victory. But Knutson would not have been in position to pull off the biggest upset in school history if not for Hegab and Tritou, who combined to deliver 2.5 points for SU. No. 34 Syracuse (14-3, 6-3 Atlantic Coast) had never defeated a top-10 team in school history prior to Sunday, when the Orange upset No. 3 Georgia Tech (14-4, 6-2) 4-3.

“When we stepped on the court we knew it would be close,” Hegab said. “It would be really tough, we knew doubles would probably matter, we knew it could be a 4-3 match.”

Like she has done so often this season, Hegab took care of business on court six. Hegab’s match is often overlooked because she plays her match a few hundred feet away from the bleachers, with no way for the fans to get close to the action. With all eyes poised on Knutson’s tight third set on one side of Drumlins, Hegab quietly took care of business in the opposite corner, winning 6-3, 6-3 at sixth singles.

When Hegab clinched the match, she let out a huge yell, and it took many of the fans a few moments to turn around and realize that SU had just grabbed its third point of the afternoon.

Sunday was Hegab’s 12th singles win of the season, and eighth in conference. She has yet to lose in singles at Drumlins this season, and has played the majority of her home matches on court six.

“I definitely feel like I own it,” Hegab said. “This is my court, even in practice.”

After sitting out four of the last five matches in singles, head coach Younes Limam made the lineup decision to reinsert Tritou into the singles ladder. At fourth singles, Tritou played one of her most consistent matches. She jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, breaking serve twice in her opponents first three service games.

She closed out the opening set 6-2 but faced much tougher resistance in the second. Tritou never trailed in the second set, but could not pull away until the final two games of the set. She battled back to hold serve at 4-all and then delivered a break of serve to close out her first singles victory since March 13.

“It was a huge team effort by everyone,” Limam said. “Every point matters, it doesn’t matter if it’s one or six.”

Even after Hegab’s day on the court was done, she could barely stand still. She looked on nervously, watching as Knutson tried to close out the biggest win in program history. The match was on her racket, serving on match point.

Hegab let out a huge cheer as Knutson served an ace up the middle to clinch the victory for SU. Before Knutson could even shake hands with her opponent, her teammates mobbed her at mid-court. Hegab made sure she was the first person to embrace her close friend. The two shared a moment together, hugging out all of their emotions as the entire team joined in for a celebration years in the making.

“Watching someone else makes me even more nervous than playing,” Hegab said. “I was so excited and so nervous, I wanted it so badly and we got it.”

Knutson’s clinching win may have ignited the celebrations for SU, but without Hegab and Tritou, the greatest in Syracuse history wouldn’t have been possible.

Published on April 1, 2018 at 5:29 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo