SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team went 2-0 on its Atlantic Coast Conference road trip to the northeast, defeating 49th-ranked Syracuse Friday and Boston College Sunday.
Sophomore Akari Matsuno led the Fighting Irish over the course of the trip, going a perfect 4-0 in singles and doubles. She and partner Carrie Beckman played an integral role in securing the doubles point in both dual matches. Julia Andreach, Bojana Pozder, and Nibi Ghosh each went 2-0 in singles during the trip, as well.
The Irish locked in the doubles point against the Syracuse Orange, with Beckman and Matsuno’s 6-4 win on court two followed up with a tight 7-6 (4) win by Ghosh and Yashna Yellayi at No. 3. Andreach continued her winning ways at the top spot, dominating the 43rd-ranked player in the nation, 6-0, 6-1. Matsuno followed up with a 6-2, 6-3 win on court six to pull Notre Dame within one point of victory. The clinch came at the hands of graduate student Page Freeman, who won 6-2, 7-5 at No. 2. Pozder added a fifth point for the Irish win a gutsy three-set win at No. 3, while Syracuse took competitive matches on courts four and five.
In Sunday’s matchup, Notre Dame once again took a 1-0 lead heading into singles, as Andreach and Freeman won decisively at No. 1, and Beckman and Matsuno were victorious at No. 2. The Eagles tied the match up with a win on court two, but that would be their only point of the day, as the Irish secured the remaining five matches, for a final team score of 6-1.
Next Up
Notre Dame returns home for the final weekend of the regular season, facing No. 20 Duke on Friday, April 12 at 3:30 p.m. and No. 6 North Carolina on Sunday, April 14 at 12:00 p.m. Friday’s matchup with the Blue Devils will be Senior Day, honoring seniors Yashna Yellayi and Julia Andreach. Festivities will begin at approximately 3:10 p.m.
#33 Notre Dame 5, #49 Syracuse 2
Singles
No. 1 – #30 Julia Andreach (ND) def. #43 Miyuka Kimoto (SU) 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 – Page Freeman (ND) def. Emilie Elde (SU) 6-2, 7-5
No. 3 – Bojana Pozder (ND) def. Viktoriya Kanapatskaya (SU) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
No. 4 – Anastasia Sysoeva (SU) def. Nibi Ghosh (ND) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 – Shiori Ito (SU) def. Yashna Yellayi (ND) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 – Akari Matsuno (ND) def. Ines Fonte (SU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 – #74 Viktoriya Kanapatskaya/Miyuka Kimoto (SU) def. #46 Julia Andreach/Page Freeman (ND) 6-3
No. 2 – Carrie Beckman/Akari Matsuno (ND) def. Constance…