Tennis

Syracuse defeats No. 35 Princeton in consolation bracket final after falling behind early

Despite falling behind early, No. 57 Syracuse (3-1) defeated No. 35 Princeton (0-2), 4-3, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Sunday in the loser’s bracket final of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend.

The final set of the match pitted Syracuse’s Valeria Salazar against Princeton’s Amanda Muliawan with the two teams tied at three.

The set raged on as the match passed the four-and-a-half hour mark. In the first set, a 6-4 Salazar win put her up, but she dropped the next set 3-6. After gaining a 4-1 advantage in the last set, Salazar found herself clutching to a slim, 5-4 lead. She fell to 5-6, but clawed back to even the last set at six. Salazar won the next point and subsequently the set 7-6.

The beginning of the singles portion was unkind to the Orange, forcing them into a deep early hole. Freshman Nicole Mitchell fell in short order, 0-6, 2-6 to Katrine Steffensen, putting the Orange in a 0-2 deficit in a race to four points.
Safdar overcame a first-game tiebreak to beat Tang 7-5 and 6-3 to take the set and the Orange’s first point. Sophomore Rhiann Newborn tied the affair for SU when she triumphed over Alanna Wolff  6-1 and 7-6.

SU’s Breanna Bachini put the Orange on the cusp of capturing the match with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 come-from-behind victory over Caroline Joyce, but Princeton’s Lindsay Graff staved off elimination for her team with a 7-5 and 6-4 defeat of Amanda Rodgers to extend the match.



In the doubles matches, Mitchell and sophomore Olivia Messineo were dispatched quickly by the Tiger tandem of Wolff and Emily Hahn, 6-1. Rodgers and Newborn were downed 6-2 by Princeton pair Graff and Steffensen.

Syracuse’s tandem of the sophomore Salazar and senior Komal Safdar were losing 3-4 to Muliawan and Dorothy Tang when the set was stopped.
The Orange holds its home opener next Saturday, Jan. 31, at noon in the Drumlins Tennis Center.

Compiled by Sam Fortier, staff writer, [email protected]





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