#32 'Cuse Cruises Past #30 Virginia Tech, 5-2

Sunday, April 17

11 a.m.

Syracuse University

Virginia Tech

4/17/2016 3:01:00 PM | Tennis

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The No. 32 Syracuse women's tennis team led for a majority of the afernoon against No. 30 Virginia Tech, defeating the Hokies in Atlantic Coast Conference play by the final score of 5-2 at Drumlins Country Club. The victory caps off the 2016 regular season, as the Orange will now prep for the ACC Tournament.

With the win, Syracuse (13-7, 7-7 ACC) will move ahead of Virginia Tech (14-9, 7-7 ACC) in the ACC standings, placing the Orange seventh overall. Pending on other outcomes around the league, Syracuse should receive a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament, which is slated to start on Wednesday in Cary, N.C.

The Orange got things going on Sunday afternoon in doubles play, picking up two victories by Anna Shkudun and Dina Hegab followed by No. 29 Gabriela Knutson and Valeria Salazar. Shkudun and Hegab defeated Virginia Tech's Elena Cerezo-Codina and Sansitha Nandakumar 6-2 before Knutson and Salazar finished off Francesca Fusinato and Kelly Williford 6-4. The win for Knutson and Salazar improves their overall doubles record to 11-3 on the year.

Taking a 1-0 lead into singles, the Orange struggled in the early going, losing two consecutive singles matches to fall behind 2-1. Freshmen Maria Tritou and Libi Mesh both dropped their matches in two sets before Syracuse could find an answer.

Trailing 2-1, the Orange bounced back in singles play by winning the next four matches. Freshman Dina Hegab notched the score at two with two 6-3 wins over Katherine Butler.

Right after the Hegab victory, Salazar came away with a big two-set win over No. 95 Cerezo-Codina. Salazar won the first set 7-5 before cruising to a 6-2 second-set victory. The junior put Syracuse up 3-2, as the Orange only needed one more singles victory to prevail.

The only matches remaining both needed a third set to determine the winner. Starting with No. 98 Knutson, the freshman dropped her first set 6-4 to Caroline Daxhelet before winning the next two 6-4, 6-2 to deliver Syracuse the win. With the victory, Knutson improved her overall singles record to 14-5, including a 9-5 mark in ACC play.

No. 76 Shkudun capped off the day with a notable win over No. 45 Fusinato. The graduate student won her first set 6-4, but dropped the second 6-1 to take Fusinato into a third set. Shkudun buckled down to defeat Fusinato 6-3 in the third set, giving the Orange a 5-2 win over the Hokies.

Below are the complete match results from Sunday's match against Virginia Tech.

#32 Syracuse 5, #30 Virginia Tech 2

Singles
1. #76 Anna Shkudun (SU) def. #45 Francesca Fusinato (VT) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
2. Valeria Salazar (SU) def. #95 Elena Cerezo-Codina (VT) 7-5, 6-2
3. #98 Gabriela Knutson (SU) def. Caroline Daxhelet (VT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Kelly Williford (VT) def. Maria Tritou (SU) 6-2, 7-5
5. Raluca Mita (VT) def. Libi Mesh (SU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Dina Hegab (SU) def. Katherine Butler (VT) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles
1. #29 Gabriela Knutson/Valeria Salazar (SU) def. Francesca Fusinato/Kelly Williford (VT) 6-4
2. Caroline Daxhelet/Raluca Mita (VT) def. Nicole Mitchell/Maria Tritou (SU) 6-1
3. Anna Shkudun/Dina Hegab (SU) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina/Sansitha Nandakumar (VT) 6-2

Match Notes:
Virginia Tech 14-9, 7-7 ACC; National ranking #30 Syracuse 13-7, 7-7 ACC; National ranking #32
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,4,6,2,3,1)
Official: Gerard Baisch T-3 hours A-77