Roster flexibility allows Syracuse to thrive in the ACC
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Syracuse played five matches in two weeks, winning four of them. It went from being unranked to No. 16 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association weekly rankings.
Three of the Orange’s wins came against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, all of which ranked inside the ITA’s top 50. They first took down No. 35 Florida State and followed that up with a major upset of No. 23 UMiami. The match against the Hurricanes would be the catalyst for Syracuse to jump into the ranked field.
The Orange would play two more ACC matchups the following weekend against No. 15 Virginia and No. 44 Virginia Tech, where they fell to the Cavaliers, but beat the Hokies. Syracuse (11-1, 4-1 ACC) has utilized different lineups and personnel throughout the five conference matches to keep its players healthy and rested.
The Orange utilized four different lineups in the singles round, and head coach Younes Limam said that putting players in different situations gives them the best chance to win.
Limam moved Viktoriya Kanapatskaya around from her previous spot at No. 3, while Polina Kozyreva moved from her typical No. 4 slot in singles up to No. 3 and No. 2.
Kozyreva occupied the No. 2 singles slot against Coppin State, allowing Limam to rest two of his top players, Zeynep Erman and Kanapatskaya.
But in doubles, Limam has stuck to the same lineup for the last few weeks because Syracuse had a ton of success, winning the doubles point in eight of its 12 games. The pair of Kozyreva and Kimoto, who made the NCAA Tournament last season, were reunited against Buffalo on Feb. 13. Erman paired with Ines Fonte while Shiori Ito played alongside Kanapatskaya.
Limam had different reasons for moving each player around in the singles lineup.
“It was a decision to see who was the most ready to go. And I think at this point in the season, we had a physical match yesterday, and it was just trying to see who needed to play a bit more and who needed the rest,” Limam said after resting Erman and Kanapatskaya against Coppin State.
That rest was well timed, as the duo prepared for “a big one” against Virginia Tech the next day, Limam said.
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Syracuse has been riddled with injuries the last couple of matches, as half of its roster has called a medical timeout or been seen by the athletic trainer since the start of ACC play.
Erman, who has played No. 1 doubles and singles, is battling a back injury and has been seen by the trainer several times. She even forewent the final match of this past weekend against No. 44 Virginia Tech since her team held a safe lead.
“I think (having the lead) had a lot to do with (retiring Erman),” Limam said. “We felt good on all the courts, and we have to pick our battles. And for today’s match, we thought we would still be okay if we gave away that point.”
Erman hasn’t completed either of her last two singles matches. Against the Cavaliers, she found herself down 2-0 in the third set. Then Fonte lost her singles match to clinch the win for UVA. Both teams decided not to finish the match between Erman and UVA’s Julia Adams, the then-No. 38 ranked singles player in the country.
Miyuka Kimoto has also been nursing an upper body injury, wearing a brace around her right arm. Fonte also sat down with the trainer after the most recent match against Virginia Tech, but hasn’t missed any time or called any medical timeouts this season.
The Orange now enter an 11-day layoff, with their next match taking place on March 17 when they travel to No. 45 Clemson (11-4, 1-3 ACC). Afterward, they visit No. 19 Georgia Tech (7-4, 2-2 ACC) on March 19.
“It was much needed to have a weekend off, we’ll practice and recover and take care of some minor injuries,” Limam said about the time off for his players.
