Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

The No. 12 Wolfpack (11-3) extended their three-game winning streak to four on Sunday afternoon, handing Syracuse its fifth consecutive loss in a 7-0 sweep.

Viktoryia Kanapatskaya and Natalie Novotna struggled from the start, failing to return their opponents’ long hits. The two had less chemistry than the Wolfpack pair they faced, conceding points due to a lack of movement and communication. They stretched for returns on multiple attempts, but most were unsuccessful, and they lost 6-1.

Miranda Ramirez and Guzal Yusupova lost on the third court (2-6), while Sofya Treshcheva and Polina Kozyreva fell in a narrow 3-4 loss when they were stopped because the Orange had lost the other two courts. The Wolfpack took the doubles point.

Head coach Younes Limam has been switching doubles pairs and rotating singles court assignments frequently this season, but on Sunday, he stuck to a similar lineup from Friday’s 6-1 loss to Wake Forest: Kanapatskaya at No. 1, Yusupova at No. 2, Novotna at No. 3, Ramirez at No. 4 and Kozyreva at No 6.

Zeynep Erman took the fifth court, switching out for Treshcheva because of her 1-6, 6-4 and 1-6 performance Friday afternoon. This was just the sophomore’s fourth singles appearance this season, her last being in the Feb. 13 match against Army, where she won the No. 5 court (6-1, 6-2).

Yusupova (6-7, 5-7), Erman (4-6, 3-6), Ramirez (5-7, 6-1, 5-7) and Kozyreva (5-7, 1-6) were inconsistent, and ultimately, all fell to the Wolfpack.

Kanapatskaya (0-6, 6-7) and Novotna (0-6, 3-6) continued their losing streak from earlier this weekend. Against Wake Forest, they both lost as a pair and in singles. The pair played the second court against No. 15 Virginia on Feb. 28, which pushed them to a ranked seat at No. 50 in the weekly Division I ITA rankings on March 10. They were booted from a ranked position the following week after Syracuse’s 3-4 loss to No. 35 Miami.

The Orange have just four matches remaining before the ACC Tournament. Last year, they had an 8-3 overall record before the NCAA shut down due to COVID-19. Syracuse has next weekend off before it faces No. 8 Georgia Tech (11-7) in Atlanta on April 2.

Published on March 21, 2021 at 4:39 pm

Contact Ella: enplowma@syr.edu