Virginia Tech loses Close Match to Syracuse, 4-3

Amber Williams

February 27, 2021

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — After dropping the doubles point early on in Friday’s match, Virginia Tech (2-5, 0-2 ACC) stumbled and never fully recovered during singles play, falling at the hands of Syracuse (4-3, 1-1 ACC), 4-3.

The Orange easily handled the Hokies during the doubles matches when partners Elizabet Danailova and Nika Kozar and Tamara Barad Itzhaki and Rita Pinto came up short, 6-3 and 6-1, respectively. 6-1.

Syracuse continued to rule the courts in singles matches when SU’s Sofya Treshcheva and Polina Kozyreva dominated their opponents, and only allowed Tech to score a combined four points.

The Hokies began to see life with a strong win from Nina Sorkin who only allowed her opponent, Ines Fonte, to grind out two points in the first set and later denied her from scoring in the second set.

To secure the win for Syracuse, Viktoriya Kanapatskaya downed Virginia Tech’s Nika Kozar 6-1 and 6-3.

Although the winner was decided, there were still two matches remaining on the court. Playing for pride, the Hokies finished strong with a win in both. Rita Pinto had a close matchup with Miranada Ramirez of the Orange, but eventually found triumph, 7-5, 6-4, following the close sets.

To finish the day, Tamara Barad Itzhaki concluded the match with three thrilling sets (7-6, 2-6 and 13-11) to result in a final win for Tech. However, it was too late for a Hokie rally and the meet ended in a 4-3 final victory for Syracuse.

Tech will continue its road trip and take on Boston College on Feb. 28.