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Syracuse’s consecutive losses to No. 1 North Carolina and No. 14 Duke in its final two matches of the regular season embodied the tone of the Orange’s .375 2021 season. Syracuse (6-10, 5-8 Atlantic Coast) ended the season with a losing record for the first time since 2017. It’s the third time in five seasons that Syracuse had 10 or more losses.

Here’s a closer look at the numbers that defined Syracuse’s 2021 season:

Struggles against ranked opponents

All but one of Syracuse’s wins this year came against unranked opponents, the one being a 4-3 upset win over then-No. 11 Georgia Tech. Syracuse saw eight ranked ACC opponents in the final nine matches of the season. The Orange, who were unranked this season, lost seven out of the eight matches against ranked opponents. Syracuse’s 10 singles players went 4-15 against ranked opponents while its 13 doubles pairings went 0-9 against ranked opponents.

In the 2018 season, Syracuse earned five wins against ranked opponents. Since then, the Orange have gone three straight regular seasons with only defeating two ranked opponents or less, as Syracuse was only able to defeat No. 15 Notre Dame in 2020, and No. 9 Michigan and No. 15 Florida State in 2019.

When Kanapatskaya did well, so did Syracuse

Freshman Viktoriya Kanapatskaya — not returning graduate students Miranda Ramirez, Guzal Yusupova or Natalie Novotna — was the most impressive player for Syracuse in 2021. But Kanapatskaya was more than impressive — she was the only ranked singles player for the Orange, boasting a No. 23 ranking at the end of the season. She was also named ACC Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week on March 2.

Kanapatskaya’s singles play was critical to the Orange’s success this season, playing matches in both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. When Kanapatskaya won her singles match, Syracuse went on to win the overall match 67% of the time. When Kanapatskaya claimed victory as No. 1, Syracuse went on to win 85.7% of those matches. The Orange lost every match when Kanapatskaya either lost her singles match — at No. 1 or No. 2 singles —or had it remain unfinished.

Shuffling pairs

Head coach Younes Limam used 13 different doubles pairings in the 2021 season compared to eight last year. Limam paired Kanapatskaya and Novotna — a freshman and graduate student — together. The pair ended the season ranked as the No. 28 doubles team in the nation. He also formed another new pair in sophomore Polina Kozyreva and junior Sofya Treshcheva. The two new pairings alternated between the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles spots throughout the season, with Kanapatskaya and Novotna playing at the No. 1 spot for seven matches and Kozyreva and Treshcheva playing at the No. 1 spot for 11.

Limam tried five different player combinations in the No. 3 doubles pairing spot throughout the season. By the second half of the season, Ramirez and Yusupova cemented themselves as the No. 3 pair. They played in eight matches together before Ramirez was contact traced for Syracuse’s final two matches. Sophomore Zeynep Erman stepped in to play with Yusupova in the final two matches of the season, where they beat North Carolina and fell to Duke.

The doubles dilemma

The doubles round proved to be pivotal for Syracuse. Despite two competitive pairs alternating at No. 1 and No. 2, the Orange only secured the doubles point five times throughout their 16-match season. Winning the doubles point usually translated to success, as SU won four of its five matches when it secured the doubles point. When Syracuse didn’t win in doubles, it lost 81.8% of the time.

Published on April 12, 2021 at 10:31 pm

Contact Bryan: [email protected]