Orange Downs Panthers
By Gill Gross
Tennis Beat Reporter
Pittsburgh (6-9, 0-8 Atlantic Coastal Conference) looked to pick up its first ACC win when Syracuse (13-3, 5-3 Atlantic Coastal Conference) visited on Friday, but the Orange wouldn’t have it, defeating the Panthers 6-2.
Syracuse came out of the gates firing. No. 37 Knutson/Ramirez won their second straight match, 6-2. Previously, they had lost four consecutive matches. Golubovskya/Shkudun clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 victory of their own.
The Orange enjoyed comfortable victories on two singles courts. No. 9 Gabriela Knutson was first to finish for Syracuse. Knutson extended a four match win streak with a 6-0, 6-3 win at first singles.
Masha Tritou hadn’t played singles since Feb. 25 against Harvard. On Friday she made the most of her opportunity, taking out Natsumi Okamoto 6-1, 6-3.
Despite Syracuse cruising early, Pittsburgh fought hard in multiple singles matches. Anna Shkudun was the only Orange to fall short. Claudia Bartolome defeated Shkudun 7-5, 6-0.
Sofya Golubovskya had to battle in a tight three setter. But the freshman prevailed 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
Miranda Ramirez and Camila Moreno split the first two sets. With the match decided, Ramirez retired at 2-2. The retirement was likely a coaches decision.
The Orange improves to 5-3 in the ACC. Next up is a home match against No. 3 team in the nation, Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets defeated No. 1 North Carolina earlier in the season.
