Tennis

Syracuse tennis dominates Buffalo, 6-1

Daily Orange File Photo

Syracuse rolled over New York state foe Buffalo on Saturday afternoon in Drumlins Country Club.

At match point, a spectator yelled at Miranda Ramirez.

“Walk the dog, Miranda, walk the dog!”

Ramirez, Syracuse’s second singles player, laughed. Then she won the match on the next point.

“It relaxed me a lot,” Ramirez said afterward. “I think that, overall, it helped me. I’m really happy.”

Behind Ramirez’s win, Syracuse (2-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) beat Buffalo (2-2), 6-1, on Saturday afternoon at Drumlins Country Club. A freshman, Ramirez partnered with Gabriela Knutson to win first doubles, 6-3. In her first singles match, Ramirez dominated in defeating Chantal Martinez-Blanco, 6-0, 6-4. Knutson won first singles, Maria Tritou won third singles, Dina Hegab won fourth singles and Libi Mesh won fifth singles.



Ramirez and Knutson set the tone in doubles with a win. After being tied 5-5 in the third doubles match, Syracuse’s Anna Shkudun and Tritou broke UB’s serve to go up 6-5, then won behind Tritou’s serve, to win 7-5 and claim the doubles point.

But Ramirez was most dominant for SU. She won long rallies against UB’s Martinez-Blanco, at least four of which lasted 12 shots or more. Often, Martinez-Blanco either failed to get the ball back over the net, or just gave up on chasing it. Ramirez continued to bounce up and down, full of energy throughout the match. Ramirez, twice in three points, hit short drop shots with her backhand that dropped just over the net.

“Everyone watching, I fed off the energy,” Ramirez said. “I loved every bit of it. So, I mean, yeah, I was just really happy and relaxed on the court and able to play my best tennis.”

Later, when Ramirez questioned a line call by her singles opponent, saying, “Are you serious?” She didn’t let it affect the next point. Ramirez won with a strong cross-court backhand out of Martinez-Blanco’s reach, and the rout continued.

“She plays with a lot of composure and confidence,” SU head coach Younes Limam said. “She did a tremendous job in the doubles and also in the singles.”





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