It was a weekend of ups and downs for the Syracuse Orange. Dominating victories against Army and St. John’s, both 7-0, were slightly clouded by a close Sunday loss to conference rival Rutgers, 4-3.
Syracuse [12] chose to change up their doubles lineups against Rutgers, which may have been the Orange’s undoing. The nearly unstoppable first doubles pair of junior Emily Harman [13] and freshman Maddie Kobelt was dismantled. Both girls managed to win their respective singles matches, but Kobelt, paired instead with fellow freshman Eva Raszkiewicz [14], lost at first doubles, 8-4.
Kobelt [15] recorded her 25th career victory during Friday’s match. Against Army, each singles girl won her match without requiring a tiebreaker set, and none of the doubles pairs allowed more than three points by the opponent.
Saturday also proved a powerful win, this time over fellow Big East team St. John’s. Jenny Yonkus of the Red Storm forced Syracuse senior co-captain Christina Tan [16] into a third set, but Tan outlasted the competition and allowed for a second straight sweep for the Orange.
The loss to the Scarlet Knights (9-5) was SU’s first conference loss of the season, as well as the Orange’s first loss at home. Despite having their streak broken, the girls look to remain positive and start up another winning streak soon.
SU’s next chance for a win will be Saturday, April 2 at William and Mary. The Tribe, ranked 50th in the country and 10-8 on the season, will prove a challenge to the Orange who have struggled this season on the road (4-5).
