Orange Sweep Opening Weekend

Sunday, January 31

11 a.m.

Syracuse University

Cornell University

Freshman Maria Tritou secured the victory for 'Cuse on Sunday afternoon.

1/31/2016 3:23:00 PM | Tennis

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The Syracuse women's tennis set the tone for their 2016 campaign with a 3-0 sweep in the opening weekend of play. The Orange finished out the weekend with a 6-1 win over Cornell on Sunday afternoon after defeating No. 58 Columbia and Liberty on Friday and Saturday.

Syracuse (3-0) utilized five singles victories while picking up a point in doubles play to defeat Cornell (2-1). Freshmen Gabriela Knutson and Dina Hegab went undefeated in singles play over the weekend, picking up three wins each.

"We are very proud of this team. The ladies fought their hearts out and took care of business from start to finish," head coach Younes Limam said. "We are excited to be playing some outdoor tennis next Saturday against Tulane."

The doubles point came down to a final slam from junior Valeria Salazar for the 7-5 victory. Salazar teamed up with graduate student Anna Shkudun to defeat Cornell's Alexandra D'Ascenzo and Dena Tanenbaum. Salazar's finish in the 45-40 comeback victory in the seventh game secured the Orange the point and eventual win.

Sophomore Nicole Mitchell and freshman Maria Tritou won their match against Marika Cusick and Jane Stewart 6-3, delivering Syracuse the advantage. Cornell's Priyanka Shah and Lizzie Stewart picked up a doubles win by defeating Knutson and Hegab 6-4.

Knutson put away her singles match against Alexandra D'Ascenzo 6-2, 6-3, giving the Orange their first singles point of the match and the 2-0 advantage. Knutson defeated all three opponents that came her way over the weekend.

Anna Shkudun defeated Marika Cusick 6-1, 6-4, putting Syracuse up 3-0 over the Big Red.

Tritou secured the victory for the Orange in a thrilling final set with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jane Stewart. Tritou was able to finish the match with two straight wins after Stewart tied it up at five games apiece.

After the match was already won by Syracuse, Dina Hegab went on to defeat Priyanka Shah 6-4, 6-4. For Hegab, it was her third straight victory of the weekend, starting out her collegiate career with a bang.

The only point for the Big Red came when Lizzie Stewart defeated freshman Libi Mesh 6-4, 6-2.

Salazar took the point in her match against Dena Tanenbaum with a 7-6 (7-5) victory in the first set and a win by retirement in the second. Tanenbaum went down with an injury and was unable to proceed for the remainder of the match.

Syracuse heads to New Orleans on Saturday, February 6 at 11 a.m. when the team takes on Tulane for its first road game of the season.

For more information and updates, follow Syracuse women's tennis on Twitter (@Cuse_Tennis), Instagram (@CuseTennis) and Facebook.