UPDATED: March 31, 2018 at 12:02 a.m.

After a three-match homestand, Syracuse (13-3, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) traveled to Oxford Athletic Club at Pittsburgh (6-9, 0-8) for a Friday afternoon road match. The top of the singles and doubles ladder delivered for the Orange, as Syracuse picked up its fifth conference win of the season with a 5-2 win over the Panthers.

SU’s top two doubles pairs made quick work of the Panthers, both winning 6-2. First doubles and No. 37 pair Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirez grabbed their second consecutive win as they look to regain their confidence following four consecutive defeats. Second doubles Anna Shkudun and Sofya Golubovskaya clinched the doubles point, and the third match was not completed.

No. 9 Knutson finished her first singles match over 20 minutes before the conclusion of the second singles match, as she won 6-0, 6-3 over Gabriela Rezende of Pittsburgh.

Masha Tritou made her first singles appearance since March 13, after she sat out the singles competition in the two previous matches. She found herself level at five games apiece in the first set, but she dropped the final two games of the opener and was shutout in the second set. Tritou lost 5-7, 0-6 as Pittsburgh cut the Orange lead to 2-1.

Dina Hegab delivered the third point for SU just moments after the lead was cut in half. She was in control from the start, winning 6-1, 6-3 at fifth singles.

Needing just one more point, Libi Mesh delivered the victory. Mesh cruised through the first set, winning 6-2. The second set was much more difficult, as Mesh fought to keep herself alive. She held serve down 5-6, forcing a tiebreaker, and eventually won the tiebreaker 7-4.

Ramirez also had a chance to close out her match in a second set tiebreaker, but she lost the tiebreaker and was forced into a deciding third set. With the third set tied at 2-all, Ramirez retired from the match, handing Pittsburgh its second point of the afternoon.

Shkudun played three sets at third singles, as the graduate student slipped up late in the second set. After dropping the final two games of the second set, Shkudun grabbed control of the final set with a 3-1 lead, before Luisa Varon broke Shkudun’s serve to level the set at 3-all. The two traded serves until 6-5, when Shkudun grabbed the break to win the match and give SU its fifth point, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Syracuse returns home to Drumlins Country Club Sunday morning for an 11 a.m. matchup with No. 3 Georgia Tech.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, due to an incorrect box score on pittsburghpanthers.com, several match scores were misstated. Masha Tritou’s score was 5-7, 0-6; Sofya Golubovskaya did not compete in singles; Libi Mesh’s score was 6-2, 7-6; Dina Hegab’s score was 6-1, 6-3; and Anna Shkudun’s score was 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. The Daily Orange regrets these errors.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, Syracuse’s conference win streak was misstated in the headline. Syracuse has won five games overall. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on March 30, 2018 at 4:26 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo