Tennis

Newborn gets singles win for Syracuse after Cornell’s Cusick leaves with injury

Marika Cusick was done as soon as she finished her second set against Rhiann Newborn.

Despite winning the first set, 6-4, an unexpected back injury derailed the Cornell sophomore’s attempt at defeating her Syracuse opponent. Newborn capitalized on the injury, winning the second set 6-2, and was given the victory after Cusick pulled out of the match.

Cusick’s forfeit helped contribute to No. 53 SU’s (4-1) 5-2 win over Cornell (0-3) at a time when the Big Red was just beginning to fight back. Orange freshman Nicole Mitchell and senior Komal Safdar lost their respective singles matches, cutting Syracuse’s lead to one. After Newborn was given the victory, however, the Orange would not lose again.

“Obviously I would have liked to finish the match and play to the best of my ability but my back was way too hurt for me to continue,” Cusick said. “Hopefully next year I can come back and play again.”

SU’s defeat of Cornell not only brought the Orange to a 4-1 start, its best in four years; it also provided Newborn with a small triumph over an opponent she’s faced before.



Saturday’s matchup was the third time Newborn and Cusick faced each other in competition. The two sophomores first met during their junior years of high school at a juniors competition. While Newborn took the first match, Cusick won the second at another tournament a few months later.

“It’s great,” Newborn said of the matchup. “I always like playing my opponents I’ve played a long time ago. I get to see how their games improved, I get to matchup my game with theirs and just keep going from there.”

Both Newborn and Cusick have gotten better since then. Cusick led the Big Red in singles victories her freshman year with a 12-5 record, while Newborn is 3-1 so far in singles play this season.

Cusick’s mother, Mika Cusick, was especially disappointed at how the match concluded. She made the trip to Syracuse from the family’s hometown of Chicago to see her daughter play, but Cusick was stuck watching from the sidelines as she struggled with injury.

“That happens,” Mika Cusick said of the injury. “I would have liked to see her play just to see what would have happened. Win or lose, I’m OK with losing. It’s just not fun when you have to pull out.”





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