Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

It has been 29 days since Syracuse has won a doubles point. The Orange went seven games without a doubles victory — their last came on March 7 against Buffalo. Facing Notre Dame, Syracuse came close to breaking the doubles losing streak, but the Orange fell just short when Emilie Elde and Shiori Ito lost against Nibi Ghosh and Yashna Yellayi.

SU lost nine straight games to finish 2023 and a year later the Orange are on a similar trajectory. In its second to last home game of the regular season, No. 49 Syracuse (9-10, 3-9) Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped its sixth straight game, falling 5-2 to No. 33 Notre Dame (14-7, 5-5 ACC).

Syracuse’s losing streak started after a signature win over then No. 8 NC State on March 15. Then came losses against Wake Forest, No. 5 Virginia, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Miami. Friday was a chance for the Orange to get back in the win column, but they couldn’t come out with a win.

The Orange’s sole doubles victory of the day came from Viktoriya Kanapatskaya and Miyuka Kimoto in the No. 1 matchup. The pair defeated Notre Dame’s Julia Andreach and Page Freeman 6-3. In No. 2 doubles, Constance Levivier and Anastasia Sysoeva lost 4-6 to Carrie Beckman and Akari Matsuno of the Fighting Irish.

With doubles tied 1-1, Elde and Ito took on Ghosh and Yellayi in the No. 3 matchup. If the Syracuse duo won the set, it could’ve won the doubles point for the first time since defeating the University of Buffalo on March 7. But after it tied the set 6-6, Ghosh and Yellayi scored the final point to secure the win and doubles point for Notre Dame.

“Obviously, you want to get the doubles point. But at the end of the day, there are still six points that you can grab,” head coach Younes Limam said.

Competing in the singles matchups wasn’t any easier for the Orange. Kimoto landed the No. 1 singles spot against Andreach but only won one game across both sets, losing 0-6, 1-6. In the No. 2 singles match, Elde fell to Freeman 2-6, 5-7.

The first set win of the match occurred in the No. 3 singles matchup between Kanapatskaya and Bojana Pozder. Though Kanapatskaya won the first set 6-4, the Notre Dame sophomore won the second 6-3 and opted not to play the third.

But the Orange won two singles in the No. 4 and 5 spots. At No. 4, Sysoeva defeated Ghosh 6-4 in both sets, while Ito won 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 against Yellayi at No. 5.

In No. 6 singles, Fonte lost both sets against Matsuno, falling 2-6, 3-6. The Syracuse senior walked off the court in tears with ice wrapped around her leg. Following the injury, she walked to the locker room but returned to the courts, limping. It is unknown whether or not she will compete in the Orange’s final home match of the season against Louisville Sunday before traveling to Cary, N.C. to compete in the ACC Tournament.

“We were aggressive… (and) I think we’re making progress in a lot of areas. Unfortunately, we’re not getting that W that gives you a lot of confidence,” Limam said.

Published on April 5, 2024 at 7:37 pm

Contact Emma: ecstark@syr.edu