No. 27 Syracuse (16-8, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) closed out its regular season with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over No. 33 North Carolina State (16-13, 7-7 ACC) on Sunday afternoon in Raleigh.

After the Wolfpack thrashed the Orange in doubles, and Miranda Ramirez lost, SU trailed 2-0. But the Orange picked up key points in close singles matches to finish the regular season on a high note ahead of the ACC Championships on Thursday.

While doubles have been a strong point for the Orange all season, the Wolfpack grabbed an early 3-1 lead on each court. As SU’s top pair of Gabriela Knutson and Ramirez battled back to level the set at four, the other pairs lost quickly. Anna Shkudun and Sofya Golubovskaya lost 6-1 at second doubles, and just minutes later, Dina Hegab and Masha Tritou lost 6-1 at third.

Ramirez entered this match fresh off her first singles win in a month. Sunday, she battled No. 94 Adriana Reami, and never managed to grab a foothold. Reami defeated Ramirez 6-0, 6-2 to give the Wolfpack a 2-0 lead. Once Reami closed out the match, SU trailed on three other courts. Two of those would have to flip for the Orange to pull out the victory.

Dina Hegab put the Orange on the board with a comfortable 6-0, 6-3 win at fifth singles.

Libi Mesh trailed 3-5 in her opening set but rallied to win the final four games of the set. Mesh controlled the second set, grabbing the crucial break to win 6-3. Once Mesh won her match, the score was tied at two, with three matches close in final sets.

Of Shkudun, Golubovskaya and Knutson, two needed to pull out victories for the Orange to win its first ACC road match outdoors this season. Golubovskaya wasted an early 2-0 lead in the opening set, losing 6-3.

She rallied from a set down at third singles to deliver the third point for Syracuse. Golubovskaya overcame the ups and downs of the match to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Like Golubovskaya, Knutson gave away an early lead in the opening set and had to come from behind. Knutson led 4-2 in the first and lost four consecutive games. She won a second set tiebreaker and remained on serve in the third until grabbing the break to close out the match, 6-3. For the second time this season, Knutson provided the clinching point in a win over a ranked opponent.

Syracuse will remain in North Carolina in this week ahead of the ACC Championships, which begin on Thursday.

Published on April 22, 2018 at 5:49 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo