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Ines Fonte appeared to be off her game Friday afternoon at Drumlins Country Club. The senior entered Friday’s contest undefeated in her singles and doubles matches this season. But in Syracuse’s second Atlantic Coast Conference match of the season, Fonte endured her first doubles loss alongside Polina Kozyreva.

Syracuse was coming off a 4-0 win against UMass Amherst on Feb. 18. Fonte and Kozyreva defeated UMass’s Danielle Hack and Thamonpan Jonglertrakul 7-6 in the most competitive doubles matchup of the day. But Friday against No. 32 Clemson (7-3, 0-1, ACC) Fonte and Kozyreva fell 6-3 in the No. 1 doubles match against Jenna Thompson and Eleni Louka. Despite the doubles loss, No. 66 Syracuse (7-1, 2-0 ACC) came out on top 4-3 to secure its second straight ACC win.

Fonte walked onto the court with a white bandage wrapped around her right arm and a piece of KT tape stretched across her shoulder. As soon as the match started, Fonte’s serve was noticeably weaker.

“It’s tough when you’re playing doubles, and you can’t hit your serve… I think she handled it as good as she could,” Syracuse head coach Younes Limam said postgame.

After beginning the set 1-1 and later 2-2, it seemed the matchup could go either way between the two duos. But after Syracuse gained a 3-2 lead, Thompson and Louka began to target Fonte. They capitalized on her less powerful returns. While the communication between Fonte and Kozyreva was strong, Fonte relied on Kozyreva to take authority of the court and make the aggressive plays they needed.

“I’ve already been in college tennis for five years, so I know how to respond to pressure and these kinds of situations,” Kozyreva said.

Although the graduate student made strategic plays, it wasn’t enough for the duo to come out on top. Thompson and Louka focused on hitting the ball on the sides and back corners of the court. Fonte and Kozyreva couldn’t move quickly enough to receive Clemson’s deep shots and had difficulty keeping up with the fast-paced plays of the match.

When the score was 3-3, Limam spoke to Fonte and Kozyreva in a motivating manner. However, Syracuse couldn’t regain the lead. After being up 40-15, the Tigers won their fourth game of the set.

Fonte continuously grabbed her shoulder and pulled at her bandage throughout the matchup. She struggled with keeping the ball in bounds and couldn’t find a rhythm. Thompson and Louka won the next two consecutive games to secure a 6-3 win.

“To Clemson’s credit, I think they played a little more aggressive than us,” Limam said. “We gotta go and make things happen… (And) have that mentality that we’re going to find a way (to win).”

Published on February 23, 2024 at 8:37 pm

Contact Emma: ecstark@syr.edu