#24 Orange Get Past Columbia to Complete Perfect Opening Weekend

Sunday, January 20

Syracuse, NY

11 am

Syracuse University

Columbia

#24 Orange Get Past Columbia to Complete Perfect Opening Weekend

1/20/2019 4:00:00 PM | Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - No. 24 Syracuse defeated Columbia, 5-2, on a snowy Sunday afternoon to close out the season-opening weekend with a 2-0 record.

Syracuse took the doubles point with victories on courts one and three, before taking four of the six singles matches to secure its second straight victory. Senior Dina Hegab clinched the match in singles for Syracuse, winning 2-1 (4-6, 7-5, 6-3).

The pair of senior Gabriela Knutson and junior Miranda Ramirez finished first in the doubles matches, taking a 6-1 victory against Columbia's Christine Wan and Jennifer Kerr. The duo lost the first game but battled back to win the next six straight, taking the set for SU.

The Orange won the doubles point with Hegab and junior Guzal Yusupova's 6-1 win over the Lions' Melissa Sakar and Yekaterina Alferova.

No. 43 Knutson remains undefeated in singles matches this season. Knutson defeated Columbia's freshman Akanksha Bhan in straight sets - 6-2, 6-3 - to gain Syracuse's second point of the match. She picked up the Orange's only straight-set singles victory Sunday.

After that, it was a lot of back and forth between Syracuse and Columbia. Ramirez suffered a first-set loss against Columbia's Wan, but then won the second set, 6-3. The deciding set bounced back and forth before Wan pulled ahead for the 6-4 victory, securing Columbia's first point of the match and cutting Syracuse's lead to 2-1.

No. 92 Sofya Golubovskaya won the first set against Columbia's Kerr, 6-2, but lost the second set. The third set started off well for Golubovskaya, as she took the first game, but she dropped the next three and fell behind 1-3. Another win for Golubovskaya cut the deficit to one, but two more wins by Kerr set up match point for Columbia's sophomore.

Golubovskaya would not be deterred, however, and won the next five straight games to secure the match win and the point for Syracuse. Syracuse, up 3-1, now only needed one more point to secure a dual victory over the Lions.

The Orange would turn to Hegab to get it done. After she and Columbia's Andrea Kevakian split the first two sets, Hegab won the decisive third set in convincing fashion with a 6-3 victory to give Syracuse its second dual win in as many days.

Syracuse next plays as a part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Oxford, Miss., where it takes on Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 26 and Ole Miss/Purdue on Sunday, Jan. 27. Syracuse returns home for its ACC opener on Friday, February 1. Admission and parking at Drumlins Country Club is free of charge.

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RESULTS
#24 Syracuse 5, Columbia 2
1. Gabriela Knutson (SU) def. Akanksha Bhan (CU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Sofya Golubovskaya (SU) def. Jennifer Kerr (CU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
3. Christie Wan (CU) def. Miranda Ramirez (SU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
4. Melissa Sakar (CU) def. Guzal Yusupova (SU) 5-7, 6-5, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Dina Hegab (SU) def. Andrea Kevakian (CU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
6. Sofya Treshcheva (SU) def. Sarah Hu (CU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

1. Gabriela Knutson/Miranda Ramirez (SU) def. Christie Wan/Jennifer Kerr (CU) 6-1
2. Sofya Golubovskaya/Sofya Treshcheva (SU) vs. Akanksha Bhan/Paulina Ferrari (CU) 3-4, unfinished
3. Dina Hegab/Guzal Yusupova (SU) def. Melissa Sakar/Yekaterina Alferova (CU) 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,3,2,5,4,6)