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

Head coach Younes Limam spoke with his players before Syracuse’s match on Sunday, its final one at home this season. They spoke not just about playing hard, but also playing for Sofya Treshcheva, the only senior on the roster.

Limam offered Treshcheva a chance to play for Syracuse after a tournament in Georgia. Coming from Moscow, Russia, the thought of playing collegiate tennis in the U.S. never crossed Treshcheva’s mind. Yet, after being a part of many firsts for the program, including an NCAA Tournament appearance and doubles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Regional Championship, Treshcheva played her final home match at Syracuse on Sunday.

“We’ve had a lot of great teammates in the past, but what she does off and on the court is amazing,” Limam said.

So in their final home match of the season — and the last of Treshcheva’s career — the Orange (9-9, 3-8 Atlantic Coast) got by Boston College (8-10, 3-8 ACC) 4-3.

The win didn’t come easy, though. Treshcheva and Shiori Ito matched up with BC’s Sophia Edwards and Hailey Wilcox in doubles play. The Eagles pair came out of the gates strong with in-sync play, and the SU duo fell behind early 3-1. Though they’d win the next game to cut the deficit to one, the BC duo went on to effortlessly win three consecutive games to take the No. 2 doubles match 6-4.

Miyuka Kimoto and Polina Kozyreva entered their No. 1 doubles match looking to win their third doubles match in a row, matching up against BC’s Laura Lopez and Marice Aguiar. Kimoto and Kozyreva quickly generated a 5-1 lead, and though the SU duo allowed Lopez and Aguiar to win the next three games, they used a dynamic shot to win 6-4.

After missing the last couple matches, Viktoriya Kanapatskaya returned to the court to partner with Ines Fonte for their doubles match, giving the Orange a much-needed boost.

“It gave a lot of confidence to her teammates to see her out there battling,” Limam said of Kanapatskaya’s return. “She just wanted to be out there for her teammates and do whatever she can.”

Kanapatskaya and Fonte matched up with Boston College’s Plobrung Plipuech and Stephanie Sanchez for the deciding doubles point, but they trailed 3-1 early. Plipuech and Sanchez took advantage of Kanapatskaya’s visible rustiness, but eventually, the duo picked up the energy and won three of the next five games to cut the lead to 5-4, which included a rally that led to Kanapatskaya earning a point off a quick in-the-air hit near the net. But in the end, after multiple shots directed back and forth, BC served a shot that left Fonte unbalanced to give BC the opening match point.

During singles play, the Orange worked their way back to take the lead. Ito’s ability to catch her opponents off guard with quick shots near the net guided her to a 5-0 lead in the first set. BC’s Muskan Mahajan won the next two games of the set, but Ito took the first set 6-2 and the second one 6-0.

“She was consistent, but at the same time going for her shots when the opportunities came her way,” Limam said of Ito.

Kanapatskaya’s rustiness carried on from doubles to singles play, as she struggled against Aguiar. Aguiar matched up well versus Kanapatskaya since both players rely on their strong shots. Kanapatskaya found herself down early, trailing 4-1, and she earned only one more win in the set before losing 6-2. Kanapatskaya similarly trailed in the second set 4-1, and she suffered her eighth loss of the season during singles play, losing 6-4.

Limam said Kimoto plays her best when she moves her feet well and gets into good position. Sunday, Kimoto had to combat Lopez’s tricky play, full of drops and slide shots, yet her dynamic shots kept Lopez on her feet in both sets. Kimoto won the last three games of the set, which included a long rally that Kimoto sent to the corner — out of reach for her opponent to catch — to grab the game point of the first set 7-5. Kimoto comfortably won 6-2 in the next set to take the match and secure her ninth singles win of the season.

Fonte used terrific shot selection in her singles match, forcing her opponent to change her style of play. The second set slowly became back and forth, allowing Sanchez to work her way back with shots that made Fonte slide to save them. In the end, Fonte won a close second set 7-5 to take the match after winning the first one 6-3.

Entering Sunday, Zeynep Erman had only participated in two singles matches the entire season, and she had lost both. Erman’s backhand volley was on point during the match, as she kept Edwards constantly hustling back and forth. Erman found herself in a tied 4-4 match, and she sent shots left and right to win the first set 7-5. Erman’s ability to serve hard-hitting forehand volley shots guided her to win another close set 7-5.

Overall, it was the Orange’s strong singles play that lifted them back to .500 before they head to Florida for two final regular season matches against Florida State and Miami before ACC Tournament play begins.

Published on April 10, 2022 at 6:34 pm

Contact Irie: irharris@syr.edu