Orange Upset #15 Notre Dame

Friday, February 28

Syracuse, NY

2:30 PM

Syracuse University

#15 Notre Dame

2/28/2020 6:36:00 PM | Tennis

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - It took every match to decide a victor Friday afternoon but Syracuse got it done and upset No. 15 Notre Dame 4-3 at Drumlins Country Club. The day came down to a heated battle at No. 5 singles where Orange freshman Polina Kozyreva fought through a second-set tiebreak and close third set to give 'Cuse its first win of the weekend. The Orange return to the courts Sunday morning to host Louisville at 11 a.m.

"Polina's win today was incredible and inspiring," head coach Younes Limam said. "She's spent hours nurturing and rehabbing her injury and doing everything she can to get ready. It was a good feeling for us to see her clinch for us so I couldn't be prouder of her. That was an amazing team effort today, the ladies demonstrated a lot of grit, perseverance, and resilience against a great Notre Dame team."

Coach Limam post-match. pic.twitter.com/azltNvLbLR
— Syracuse Tennis (@Cuse_Tennis) February 29, 2020

GAME. SET. MATCH!
Polina Kozyreva rallies at No. 5 to clinch the day for Syracuse! 4-3 Orange! pic.twitter.com/ofVffVFx05
— Syracuse Tennis (@Cuse_Tennis) February 28, 2020

How it Happened:
Doubles:
Limam decided to switch things up against Notre Dame and went with three new doubles pairings Friday. The day started with Sofya Golubovskaya and Sofya Treshcheva taking on Notre Dame's Zoe Spence and Julia Lilien at No. 2. The new Orange pair fell 6-1, giving the Irish the first doubles win of the day. In the No. 1 spot, Guzal Yusupova and Zeynep Erman took on the Irish's Cameron Corse and Page Freeman. The senior/freshman duo traded games with the Notre Dame pair but eventually fell 6-3, locking up the doubles point for the Irish. With the point decided, Syracuse abandoned the No. 3 match where Miranda Ramirez and Kim Hansen were up 6-5.

Singles:
With Notre Dame ahead 1-0, singles play commenced with Ramirez taking on Zoe Spence at the No. 2 spot. Ramirez continued her strong play, defeating Spence 6-4, 6-3 for her sixth two-set sweep of the year. The win moved her to 8-1. Treshcheva kept things going, dominating her first set against Ally Bojczuk, 6-2, before taking the second set 7-5 to give the Orange a 2-1 lead.

Yusupova then faced off against Cameron Corse at the top singles spot. Yusupova fell 1-6, 3-6 to Corse, evening the score at 2-2. Hansen took on Page Freeman at the No. 3 spot and Freeman, who came into the day with a 10-2 record, took the first set 6-4. After trading games the entire second set, it was Freeman who came out on top, giving Notre Dame a 3-2 lead.

Trailing by a point, the game came down to the two remaining Orange freshman, Erman and Kozyreva. At the no. 6 spot, Erman squared off against Notre Dame's Maeve Koscielski. Both players swapped games in the first set before Erman was able to force a tiebreak and win the set 7-6 (7-4). Erman kept te pressure on and won the second set, 6-3, to once again tie the game.

Kozyreva took her first set against Julia Lilien, 6-4, but Lilien forced a tiebreak and won 7-6 (7-4) in the middle frame to set up an exciting finish. Locked at one set a piece, both teams gathered to watch the outcome of the deciding match. Kozyreva did not disappoint, quickly jumping out to a 5-1 lead, her teammates erupting after every point. After Lilien won three straight games, Kozyreva silenced the comeback effort and took the set 4-3, giving Syracuse a 4-3 victory. The victory marks the Orange's second in the ACC this season.

Up Next:
Syracuse caps the weekend Sunday morning at 11 a.m. when Louisville comes to Drumlins. Fans can watch the action live via ACC Network Extra.

For complete coverage of Syracuse tennis, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse University Women's Tennis, Twitter (@Cuse_Tennis) and Instagram (@cusetennis). For more information about Drumlins, click here.

#15 Notre Dame 8-5, 1-2x ACC
Syracuse 7-2, 2-1 ACC

Singles competition
1. Cameron Corse (ND) def. Guzal Yusupova (SU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Miranda Ramirez (SU) def. Zoe Spence (ND) 6-4, 6-3
3. Page Freeman (ND) def. Kim Hansen (SU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Sofya Treshcheva (SU) def. Ally Bojczuk (ND) 6-2, 7-5
5. Polina Kozyreva (SU) def. Julia Lilien (ND) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
6. Zeynep Erman (SU) def. Maeve Koscielski (ND) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Order of finish: 2,4,1,3,6,5

Doubles competition
1. Cameron Corse/Page Freeman (ND) def. Guzal Yusupova/Zeynep Erman (SU) 6-3
2. Zoe Spence/Julia Lilien (ND) def. Sofya Golubovskaya/Sofya Treshcheva (SU) 6-1
3. Miranda Ramirez/Kim Hansen (SU) vs. Bess Waldram/Zoe Taylor (ND) 6-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 2,1,3