Tennis

Syracuse tennis improves to 5-0 on season in win over Yale

No. 65 Syracuse (5-0) continued its hot start to the 2016 season Friday afternoon, downing Yale (0-5) by a score of 6-1 in New Haven, Connecticut.

The Orange is off to its best start since 2009, when it went 7-0 to start the season. The last time the Orange played the Bulldogs was in 2012, when Syracuse won 4-3.

Syracuse struck first when doubles pair Valeria Salazar and Gabriela Knutson beat Tina Jiang and Madeleine Hamilton, 6-1. Dina Hegab and Anna Shkudun followed with a 6-3 win to put the Orange on the board.

Though freshman Maria Tritou and sophomore Nicole Mitchell fell 4-6 and Salazar lost her singles match, the Orange excelled in singles play.

Hegab and Knutson each improved to 5-0 with victories in consecutive sets. Hegab won 6-2, 6-4 and Knutson won 6-2, 6-3.



The No. 43-ranked Shkudun won her matchup 6-2, 6-2 and improved her record to 4-1 in singles play.

Freshman Libi Mesh defeated Amy Yang 6-4, 7-5.

Three of Syracuse’s five matches have been against Ivy league opponents this year, and the Orange has won all three. In recent years, the Orange has feasted on the conference, going 11-4 since 2009.

Syracuse returns home for the first time in two weeks on Sunday, when it hosts St. John’s (3-1) at 11 a.m.





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