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Since coming to Syracuse, freshman Shiori Ito has been perfect in the singles competition, winning all of her matchups on the season.

Against Drexel’s Cristina Corte González on Sunday, Ito only lost one game. She’s now undefeated on the year.

Ito’s teammates replicated her outstanding all-around play as Syracuse (4-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) emerged victorious over Drexel Dragons 7-0 (0-3, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association) on Sunday, dropping only one doubles matchup en route to a dominant overall performance.

It was an interesting outing for the Orange, who changed up their doubles lineup for the first time this season. The regular pairing of Japanese duo Ito and Miyuka Kimoto shifted as head coach Younes Limam opted to pair Ito with experienced senior Sofya Treshcheva and Kimoto with Russian ace Polina Kozyreva. Although it didn’t work as Limam hoped, with Ito and Treshcheva falling in the No. 3 doubles matchup, 6-4, the rest of the tandems won.

In the No. 1 doubles matchup of the day, Ines Fonte and Viktoriya Kanapatskaya continued their excellent play as the two sophomores defeated Drexel pair Lorie Lemongo and Mya Fuentes. Fonte and Kanapatskaya have not lost this season.

On the singles front, Syracuse was perfect in every matchup. Kozyreva, the only Syracuse player besides Ito to remain undefeated in the singles competition this year, cruised to another comfortable win, defeating Fuentes 6-1, 6-2. Kanapatskaya, who recently bounced back from a series of early-season struggles, continued her winning ways as she downed senior Tara Veluvolu despite a difficult final tiebreaker set.

In the first No. 1 singles matchup in her young collegiate career, Kimoto also won convincingly, defeating Lemongo in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. The pressure didn’t seem to faze her as she made quick work of her freshman opponent. In the remaining matchups between the Orange and the Dragons, Fonte delivered her first bagel of the season in her first set before winning the second to finish 6-0, 6-4.

Treshcheva, who has recently struggled with shoulder issues, finished Syracuse’s stellar afternoon with a quick 6-2, 6-3 victory. Treshcheva’s battle with her long-term injury was most notable in a frustrating defeat to Penn State’s Gabby O’Gorman, but since then, she’s been able to string together two straight wins.

Syracuse will be back at its home court at Drumlins Country Club on Feb. 12 to play Buffalo in a New York state clash and the 10th all-time matchup between the two programs. Limam and the Orange hope to improve to 5-1 on the season before entering conference play.

Published on February 6, 2022 at 10:25 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff