Syracuse Recap

Irish Comeback Bid Falls Short Versus No. 25 Syracuse

NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team staged a furious comeback from a 3-0 deficit, only to see the bid come up just short against No. 25 Syracuse. The Irish got singles victories from Brooke Broda, Cameron Corse and Ally Bojczuk in the effort before falling, 4-3, to the Orange.

How It Happened

Notre Dame took the first doubles match courtesy of Zoe Spence and Broda scoring a 6-0 win over Maria Tritou and Sofya Golubovskaya on court two. The Orange rebounded on court three, with Dina Hegab and Guzal Ysupova defeating Notre Dame’s Zoe Taylor and Bojczuk, 6-2. Court one decided the doubles point, with Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirez winning over Corse and Bess Waldram, 6-3.

The Orange quickly got on the verge of clinching the match in singles play. Golubovskaya defeated Waldram, 6-0, 7-6, on court three, while Knuston won a straight-set victory at the top of the lineup over Spence, 7-5, 6-1. Quickly after, Broda completed a straight-set victory of her own over Libi Mesh at five singles (6-2, 6-2) to cut the Syracuse lead to 3-1.

That’s when the Irish began to make things interesting. After dropping the first set, Bojczuk, Corse and Taylor all rebounded to win the second set. Corse was the first one to keep the match alive, as she needed an 8-6 tiebreaker win to force the third. That enabled Bojczuk to close the team score to 3-2 with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Ramirez at two singles. Corse followed by defeating Yusupova at four singles, 0-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3.

All eyes turned to six singles, where Syracuse senior Dina Hegab was able to wrestle a three-set match from Taylor, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, to hand Notre Dame both its first home loss and first conference loss of the season.

Silverio’s Story
Head coach Alison Silverio on the match…

On belief as the team was down 3-0…
“I believe in our players 100-percent and we’re never out of a fight. It’s a testament to the work and the consistency that we’re all putting in. Regardless of the score, whether you’re down 3-0 or up 3-0, you’ve got to be able to finish. It was great that we were able to put ourselves in a position today to be successful as a team. Obviously we didn’t convert the last match, but that was a great example of the belief that is growing in our program.”

On the comeback effort, especially Corse rebounding after losing the first set, 6-0….
“Again, testament to Cam. She’s been coming in, doing the work, being disciplined and having that kind of consistent attitude and effort. It’s not a surprise that she’s able to battle back. For a lot of our players today. Bess (Waldram) is another one. She lost that first set pretty quickly and couldn’t quite convert in the second, but gave herself and the team an opportunity to stay in the match. For sure, for Cam and Ally coming back and putting that exclamation on it for us to get back to 3-all, then for a freshman to be in that situation in Zoe Taylor, she’s going to grow so much from this.”

On Broda’s consistency…
“I said it after Friday’s match, but she’s really catching her stride and she’s executing so much of what we’re working on in practice. She’s got four years of experience under her belt and she understands what it means in these matches to get a point on the board quickly. She’s been taking care of business and as she continues, hopefully she can level up and start taking on some more.”

Match Notes

  • Notre Dame is now 6-1 at the Eck Tennis Pavilion this spring.
  • Bojczuk improved to 6-1 at the two singles position.
  • Corse maintained a perfect record at four singles, where she is 7-0.
  • Waldram suffered her first setback of the year at three singles, where the junior is now 5-1.
  • Spence and Broda are 3-0 this spring as doubles partners, all on court two.

Scoreboard

#25 Syracuse 4, Notre Dame 3
Feb 24, 2019 at Notre Dame, IN (Eck Tennis Pavilion) 

Singles competition
1. #42 Gabriela Knutson (SU) def. Zoe Spence (ND) 7-5, 6-1
2. Ally Bojczuk (ND) def. #71 Miranda Ramirez (SU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Sofya Golubovskaya (SU) def. Bess Waldram (ND) 6-0, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Cameron Corse (ND) def. Guzal Yusupova (SU) 0-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
5. Brooke Broda (ND) def. Libi Mesh (SU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Dina Hegab (SU) def. Zoe Taylor (ND) 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Gabriela Knutson/Miranda Ramirez (SU) def. Cameron Corse/Bess Waldram (ND) 6-3
2. Zoe Spence/Brooke Broda (ND) def. Maria Tritou/Sofya Golubovskaya (SU) 6-0
3. Dina Hegab/Guzal Yusupova (SU) def. Zoe Taylor/Ally Bojczuk (ND) 6-2
Match Notes
Syracuse 8-4, 2-2 ACC; National ranking #25
Notre Dame 8-3, 2-1 ACC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,1,5,2,4,6)
T-3:05 A-89

Up Next

The Irish visit the Triangle next weekend for a pair of ACC matches. Notre Dame takes on No. 2 North Carolina on Friday, March 1 (3 p.m.), before facing No. 23 NC State on Sunday, March 3 (Noon). Notre Dame’s next home match is Friday, March 8, against Louisville. Note the match with the Cardinals begins at 3:30 p.m., a change from its originally scheduled time.