Knutson Earns Signature Win in #28 Orange's Loss

Friday, March 29

Syracuse, NY

4 pm

Syracuse University

North Carolina

Knutson Earns Signature Win in #28 Orange's Loss

3/29/2019 8:00:00 PM | Tennis

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Senior Gabriela Knutson once again displayed why she is one of the top competitors in the country.

Knutson, the 40th-ranked singles player in the nation, earned a signature win by defeating No. 2 North Carolina's fifth-ranked Makenna Jones in the No. 28 Syracuse women's tennis team's 5-2 loss Friday afternoon at Drumlins Country Club.

The setback moves the Orange's record to 11-7 overall and 4-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The match began with the Tar Heels holding off the Orange to win the doubles point. The eighth-ranked pair of Jessie Aney and Alexa Graham dispatched No. 71 Knutson and junior Miranda Ramirez, 6-2, but sophomore Sofya Golubovskaya and freshman Sofya Treshcheva fired right back with a 6-2 win of their own.

Attention shifted to the action on court three, where Syracuse's duo of senior Dina Hegab and junior Guzal Yusupova were deadlocked in a back-and-forth battle against UNC's Cameron Morra and Sara Daavettila. The Orange upperclassmen rallied to force a tiebreaker, but ultimately lost, 7-6 (7-3), to give the Tar Heels the point.

Up 1-0 entering singles, North Carolina extended the advantage to 3-0 with two straight-set victories. No. 9 Daavettila moved past Golubovskaya (6-1, 6-2), while No. 3 Graham took down No. 90 Ramirez (6-3, 6-2).

The Orange would not go out without a fight, though. Hegab earned her 11th victory of the season - and second in a row - with a straight-set triumph (6-3, 6-2) on court six, giving her squad its first point of the dual.

Syracuse's dreams of a comeback, however, were ended shortly thereafter. Aney defeated Treshcheva by the score of 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) on court five, clinching the dual victory for the Tar Heels. No. 25 Morra padded to the Tar Heels' lead with a three-set win (3-6, 6-1, 6-0) over Orange senior Maria Tritou to make the score 5-1.

Knutson, meanwhile, would not relent. After splitting the first two sets (6-2, 2-6), the Orange's top singles player dug her heels in and pulled out a 6-4 win in the third and final set. The victory gave Syracuse its second point of the day and gave her yet another win over one of the country's best singles competitors.

OF NOTE
Knutson has defeated six nationally-ranked opponents in singles this season, most notably taking down Michigan's then-No. 3 Kate Fahey earlier in the year. Her victory over North Carolina's Jones marks her fourth straight win against a ranked opponent.

UP NEXT
No. 10 NC State comes to Drumlins next. First serve between the Orange and the Wolfpack is set for 11 a.m. Sunday, March 31.

The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. First serve is set for 4 p.m. inside Drumlins. Admission and parking are free.

For complete coverage of Syracuse tennis, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Women's Tennis), Twitter (@Cuse_Tennis) and Instagram (@CuseTennis).

RESULTS
#2 North Carolina 5, #28 Syracuse 2

Singles
1. #40 Gabriela Knutson (SU) def. #5 Makenna Jones (NC) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
2. #3 Alexa Graham (NC) def. #90 Miranda Ramirez (SU) 6-3, 6-2
3. #9 Sara Daavettila (NC) def. Sofya Golubovskaya (SU) 6-1, 6-2
4. #25 Cameron Morra (NC) def. Maria Tritou (SU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
5. Jessie Aney (NC) def. Sofya Treshcheva (SU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Dina Hegab (SU) def. Alle Sanford (NC) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles
1. #8 Jessie Aney/Alexa Graham (NC) def. #71 Gabriela Knutson/Miranda Ramirez (SU) 6-2
2. Sofya Golubovskaya/Sofya Treshcheva (SU) def. Alle Sanford/Makenna Jones (NC) 6-2
3. Cameron Morra/Sara Daavettila (NC) def. Dina Hegab/Guzal Yusupova (SU) 7-6 (7-3)

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