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Amid its 7-0 start to the season, Syracuse’s one weak point has been at No. 3 singles. Against Cornell, SU’s Serafima Shastova lost to Victoria Zhao in two sets. The following weekend, the Orange’s Anastasia Sysoeva, head coach Younes Limam’s primary No. 3 singles choice, lost to James Madison’s Ines Oliveira.
Shiori Ito won two straight singles matches at the No. 3 spot, before Shastova returned to the third singles spot with a win against Boston University. Limam then switched back to Sysoeva, who lost against Boston College and Columbia. Her loss marked the Orange’s worst singles record (3-4), while all other singles had lost four matches combined.
“We came, and we wanted to give it all, and everyone fought,” Sysoeva said. “We had a lot of points on a lot of courts and just the way we were cheering for each other. I think it shows that we gave it all.”
Syracuse’s (7-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) struggles in the No. 3 singles continued in a 4-0 loss to No. 3 North Carolina (8-3, 1-0 ACC) Friday. Sysoeva fell to North Carolina’s No. 32-ranked Carson Tanguilig 6-3, 6-3. The loss was SU’s third straight in the No. 3 singles and Sysoeva’s fifth singles loss this season.
“We threw everything at UNC that we had today and credit to them. Obviously, their records (and rankings) speak for themselves,” Limam said.
This season, UNC head coach Brian Kalbas has rotated four players in and out of the No. 3 singles rotation. However, the Tar Heels’ rotation possesses four Intercollegiate Tennis Association-ranked singles players.
Tanguilig took control of the first two games, winning the first after a deuce and the second without giving up a point. But after a Tanguilig return sailed out of play, Sysoeva closed the gap to 2-1. The two split the next two games with the score at 3-2.
Slowly, Tanguilig started to take control of the set. She won the sixth game with a comfortable four-point cushion. At 15-0 in the seventh game, Sysoeva was left to watch a Tanguilig forehand sail past her. Sysoeva followed that up with a backhand that didn’t clear the net, as Tanguilig won her third game in the first set without giving up a point.
Sysoeva captured the eighth game as Tanguilig’s forehand flew into the net, but Tanguilig prevailed in the ninth game to obtain a first-set victory.
“(UNC) made things more uncomfortable and credit to them. I think we battled in every single court. I wish it was a little bit closer,” Limam said.
At first, the second set started as a continuation of the first. The UNC senior opened up a 15-0 lead before a double fault leveled the score to 15-all.
Sysoeva and Tanguilig traded the next four points, which set the pair at deuce. However, Tanguilig’s quick lateral movement toward the front of the net led the way for a gentle shot for the win.
“(There have) been some tough matches (where I) came short. …Today, I felt a little better about the game,” Sysoeva said.
Sysoeva won the second game, but Tanguilig’s perfectly placed backhand took the third game. Still, Sysoeva was knocking on the door.
At 40-30 in game four, Tanguilig’s volley didn’t clear the net. She then botched another forehand near the net. Suddenly, Sysoeva was down a set but up 3-2 against her ranked opponent.
With the game at 40-all after originally being 40-15 in favor of Tanguilig, it seemed like Sysoeva’s run would continue. But, Tanguilig’s forehand snuffed out her comeback.
Tanguilig won the next three matches to win the second set 6-3 and clinch a 4-0 win for the Tar Heels. The defeat moved SU’s No. 3 singles record to 3-5, three matches behind the No. 1 and No. 2 singles records.
“I think we have a tremendous group of young ladies that work very hard and they want to get better, and they want to have more,” Limam said.
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