Despite late efforts, Syracuse comes up short in singles in season finale
Syracuse tennis’ singles won just one of four finished singles matches in its regular season finale against Clemson Sunday. Peter Radosh | Asst. Copy Editor
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If singles is like a roller coaster, Syracuse is like a fourth grader who isn’t quite tall enough to enjoy the ride. It seems as if each weekend, SU approaches the measuring board next to the ride, and every week it still doesn’t reach the threshold.
Time and again, the Orange fall just short of triumph in singles.
The story has been the same all season, and it was no different on Sunday when Clemson (17-7, 7-5 Atlantic Coast) shut the door on the Orange (7-12, 3-9 ACC) in singles.
The Orange started strong. Emma Scaldalai dominated Sophie Clayton in straight sets at the No. 6 singles, defeating her 6-0, 6-2. Her win gave Syracuse its only point of the day as she continued her late-season surge.
Over her last three contests, Scaldalai has played seven sets and only dropped one. She’s seen marked improvement since the beginning of the season and has settled into a consistent role at No. 6 singles.
Head coach Younes Limam was pleased with her growth.
“Coming in as a freshman in the spring is never easy,” Limam said. “But I think she’s handled it extremely well, and I’m very proud of her to pull through against a very good player today.”
The freshman could see an increased role next year with Syracuse sporting four graduating seniors, especially as she’s established herself as reliable down the stretch.
In similar fashion to Scaldalai, Anastasia Sysoeva was hot out of the gate at No. 1 singles, blanking her opponent, Jade Groen, 6-0 in the first set.
However, she faltered in the second. Despite being tied 1-1 early, she let the set slip from her grasp, losing three consecutive games.
With the score tied 3-3, Groen hit a flailing backhand shot over the net. Sysoeva hustled over to the ball and slammed it into the back left corner. However, the highlight-reel shot wasn’t enough. She fell 6-3 in the second set as Groen forced a third.
Not much went right for Sysoeva in the third. She went down 4-0 and simply couldn’t dig herself out of the hole. The match went unfinished with a score of 5-3.
Falling short in second sets seemed to be a common theme for the Orange. In both No. 2 and No. 3 singles, Syracuse won the first set but was dominated in the second sets. Across the top three singles matches, Syracuse was outscored 18-7 in second-set games.
Clemson forced three third sets and pulled away easily, clinching the win as Rinon Okuwaki defeated Serafima Shastova 6-4.
When asked how Syracuse can capitalize on early momentum in the ACC Tournament, Limam said there are a few adjustments it could make. Those adjustments will be crucial to extending the Orange’s season.
“I think we gotta do certain things a little bit better. As far as when it’s a big point, having a little bit of a clear vision of what we want to do,” Limam said.
