Emilie Elde propels Syracuse to win over Clemson
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With the match between Syracuse and Clemson tied 3-3, Emilie Elde’s singles match versus Clemson senior Eleni Louka would decide the outcome. In an action-packed set, Elde used her powerful serve — an area the Orange struggled in doubles — to jump out to a commanding 5-2 lead. As Elde attempted to close out the first set, her inexperience started to show. Elde struggled to maintain the consistency she brought to the first few games of the match.
Louka fought back to tie the score up and forced an extra game to be played. Tied at five, Elde regained her form, winning the next two games to get the one-set advantage. Despite having momentum heading into the second set, Elde lost her footing. Louka cruised to a second set victory to force a winner-take-all third set.
One tiebreak game ultimately decided the winner. Both players were throwing whatever little they had left in the tank until Elde started to pull away during the final few points and took the tiebreaker (7-3) and the match to defeat Louka and Clemson as a whole, 7-5, 1-6, 7-6.
“I’m sure she will remember this match for a long time,” SU head coach Younes Limam said.
Propelled by Elde’s breakout match, Syracuse (7-1, 2-0 ACC) defeated Clemson (7-3, 0-1 ACC) 4-3. For the second week in a row, Syracuse got off to a slow start in doubles before rallying in singles to win a tight ACC match.
In doubles, Syracuse was hit with early adversity. Shortly after the start of play, Ines Font had to get her right arm wrapped due to a shoulder injury. The injury proved to be a problem, as the righty barely could get her softer serves over the net. Polina Kozyreva did all she could to help herself and partner remain competitive in the match, but it was to no avail as Clemson’s Jenna Thompson and Louka cruised to a 6-3 victory.
SU’s Elde and Viktoriya Kanapatskaya faced Sophia Hatton and Alina Tsyurpalevych. The Tigers took a commanding 5-1 lead, one that seemed insurmountable. But Elde and Kanapastkaya rallied to make it 5-4. Clemson and Syracuse were locked into an intense 10th game, as the score was tied 40 all. Though the Orange couldn’t finish what they started, losing the game and the match 4-6.
Shiori Ito and Miyuka Kimoto, who have formed a powerful duo, struggled early in their match versus Cristina Mayorova and Leigh Van Zyl, finding themselves down 5-2. With their backs against the wall, Syracuse’s duo won three consecutive games to tie the score at fives. As Kimoto and Ito tried to propel themselves to a dramatic win, Clemson wrapped up the other two matches to take the doubles point. With doubles decided, Kimoto’s and Ito’s match ended prematurely with it being recorded as undecided.
“(Clemson) played more aggressive than us,” Limam said. “We have to make things happen…. It takes time to adjust to what the (opponents are) doing well.”
Despite losing in doubles, Syracuse showed signs of life near the end to give themselves confidence heading into singles. SU took five of six first singles sets — Elde was the star of the day, making just her second start on the number one court for the Orange.
“(I) was just reminding her of her strengths…. Being under so much pressure, how she handles it (is very impressive),” Limam said.
Although nothing could top Elde’s match, Kimoto’s was a close second. Her first set went the full distance. It required a first-set tiebreak. Unlike Elde, Kimoto had a lot more energy to expend given her tiebreak was at the beginning of her match. Kimoto prevailed to win the tiebreak 7-4. With the first set in the rearview mirror, Kimoto refused to give Clemson’s Mayorova any reason to believe. Kimoto suffocated Mayorova in the second set to win the match in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4.
Syracuse also saw two other singles sweeps, except these contained a lot less drama. Kanapatskaya cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Tsyurpalevych, and Kozyreva swept Daniella Medvedeva 6–2, 6-0.
Ito and Anastasia Sysoeva both fell in three sets. Ito got off to a slower start, as she dropped the first set. The junior came back strong to win the second set, but she was overpowered by Hatton in the final set, falling 2-6, 6-3, 1-6. Sysoeva came out strong to take the first set but was unable to finish the job. After a hard-fought first set, Sysoeva did not have much left in the tank. The sophomore managed to win just four games combined in the second and third sets, losing to Thompson 6-4, 2-6, 2-6.
Syracuse will seek revenge when it faces Georgia Tech for the first time since the Yellow Jackets eliminated the Orange from the ACC Tournament last year. Limam’s squad will get a day to rest and reset before hosting its ACC foe at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
“The ACC is very strong, so every opponent is going to be very challenging,” Limam said.
