The Regular Season is Over…. Now What? A Look into the Future for Syracuse Tennis.
By: Josh Richardson | @joshrichy_04
This weekend marks the final Friday/Sunday of conference play for the ACC but Syracuse Tennis has some time to breathe. The Orange concluded their season last Sunday with a 7-0 win over Louisville. That win snapped a six-dual losing streak for SU and brought them to 10-10 overall on the season. As other schools have at least one more dual to play, it’s still up in the air for who Younes Limam’s squad will face in the ACC tournament starting April 17th. Until then, let’s see what else is on the horizon for Syracuse.
Bye-Bye Seniors
Syracuse needs to add some firepower going forward and into next season. The main reason: SU has three seniors making their final curtain calls in just a few weeks. Polina Kozyreva, Ines Fonte, and Viktoriya Kanapatskaya are all seeing their Orange careers come to a close. Kozyreva has been the consistent #2 – #3 singles player for Syracuse all season. Fonte is as tough as they come. She has battled injuries the last two seasons, yet managed to be a positive player and presence for the program in the #5 and #6 singles. Kanapatskaya made her mark on the school years ago when she was named an All-American in 2021. Since then, the Senior hasn’t shown the same level of production as she did three years ago, but her talent, work ethic, and dedication to the sport remains the same. SU will look for current juniors Shiori Ito and Star Miyuka Kimoto to step up and lead this program in the absence of the veterans. Losing those three seniors also means Syracuse is under the minimum amount you can have on a roster, sitting one short. That means it’s up to Limam to recruit and find more talent to help the future of the team.
Keys to ACC Success
The ACC Tournament starts in just four days from North Carolina. Last season, SU was bounced 4-0 by Georgia Tech in its opening dual. While last season’s Orange team went 11-10 (11-9 in regular season), this year’s squad has shown moments of being better than its predecessor. In matches SU has lost, it has been much more competitive than it had been a year prior. The best win for Syracuse last season was over #23 Miami 4-3. This season: #8 NC State 4-3. The talent is there, it will all come down to results for Syracuse, especially on the doubles court. The Orange went 4-9 in the ACC, but of those 13 duals, they went 1-12 winning the doubles point. Starting off fast and strong is the most premiere and important way for SU to put its foot on the gas and drive through the rest of the conference.
Overall
This has been a successful season for Syracuse. Double-digit wins for another consecutive year, an upset over the then-8th-ranked team in the nation, and strong newcomers willing to learn and be ready for whatever gets thrown at them. The ACC Tournament begins Thursday from North Carolina, where the Orange hope to make a run and push their resume into the NCAA Tournament.
