By Riley Vance —

In their first ACC matchup of the season, women’s tennis (4-2) prevailed over Syracuse (2-3)
with a final score of 4-3.

To start off doubles, graduate student Raven Neely and Sophomore Tatiana Simova swept court two with a 6-0 win over Syracuse’s Guzal Yusupova and Sofya Treshcheva.

Junior Rhea Verma and sophomore Andrea Di Palma took down Natalie Novotna and Miranda Ramirez 6-2 to secure the doubles point for the Cards.

Senior Chelsea Sawyer and junior Dina Chaika were up 5-4 when doubles play stopped. “We are playing good doubles, and it’s always good to get that first point to try and have momentum going into singles,” said head coach Mark Beckham.

The Cards advanced into singles with a 1-0 over the Orange.

Sawyer was the first to finish her match, only giving a single game to her opponent Ramirez (6-1, 6-0).

Bringing the overall score to 3-0, Di Palma managed an impressive 6-0, 6-0 win over No. 81 ranked Yusupova.

Syracuse fought back on court three with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 over Louisville’s Neely.

The Orange also took over courts one and six, leaving the fate of the match on court five.

Verma battled in a three-set match against Syracuse’s Ines Fonte and ultimately came out on top with a 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 win.

“I’m really proud of Rhea Verma. She’s been in that situation a couple times and was on the bad side of it. It came down to her again, and because she had been through those other situations, she was able to pull it out and get a big win for us,” said Beckham.

Women’s tennis faces Boston College this Sunday, Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. at the Bass-Rudd Tennis
Center.

Final Scores:
Singles
1. #121 Viktoriya Kanapatskaya (SYR) def. Nikolina Jovic (LOU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4

2. Andrea Di Palma (LOU) def. #81 Guzal Yusupova (SYR) 6-0, 6-0
3. Natalie Novotna (SYR) def. Raven Neely (LOU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Chelsea Sawyer (LOU) def. Miranda Ramirez (SYR) 6-1, 6-0
5. Rhea Verma (LOU) def. Ines Fonte (SYR) 6-7, 6-1, 6-2
6. Polina Kozyreva (SYR) def. Tatiana Simova (LOU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Doubles
1. Rhea Verma/Andrea Di Palma (LOU) def. Natalie Novotna/Miranda Ramirez (SYR) 6-2
2. Raven Neely/Tatiana Simova (LOU) def. Guzal Yusupova/Sofya Treshcheva (SYR) 6-0
3. Chelsea Sawyer/Dina Chaika (LOU) vs. Ines Fonte/Viktoriya Kanapatskaya (SYR)
unfinished, 5-4

Photo Courtesy of GoCards