Valeria Salazar ran to the corner of the baseline and hit a return that bounced off the net and back onto her side of the court. She put her head into her hands and let out a screech. Throughout the rest of the meet, similar sounds of despair came from Syracuse players.

The reactions summarized what would be No. 62 Syracuse’s (7-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) first loss of the year, a 5-2 loss to No. 9 Virginia (5-3, 2-0). Gabriela Knutson and Salazar struck first, winning No. 1 doubles 6-1. But that would be the only taste of victory for the Orange in doubles, as SU’s other doubles teams both faltered after building up early leads.

Singles followed a similar path for the Orange, as the team only prevailed in two matches. Knutson and Dina Hegab both won their matches, as they remain undefeated in all of the singles play this year. However, the most notable losses came from No. 1 singles in Anna Shkudun and No. 2 singles Salazar, ultimately erasing the Orange’s perfect season.

“I thought I played a great first game, but then I was on-and-off. I try to have a short memory and brush it off,” Salazar said. “I felt pressured because my opponent was always attacking. That pressure to hit good shots made me miss balls I regularly don’t miss.”

Shkudun struggled early in the match, as she took on the No. 2 singles player in the country Danielle Collins. Shkudun was running up and down the baseline, letting out grunts with each return. However, each return by Shkudun was met with an even better placed ball by Collins. While Shkudun did squeak out a game in both sets, she eventually fell to Collins 1-6, 1-6.

Unlike the quick win by Virginia in No. 1 singles, Salazar battled back against No.15 ranked Julia Elbaba. Falling in the first set, Salazar made changes to her game to throw off her opponent.

“(Valeria) started using the slice a little bit more and giving Elbaba a different look because she really liked to take control of the rallies and take the ball a little bit sooner,” head coach Younes Limam said. “Valeria did a good job of getting the ball out of her strike zone in the second set.”

Salazar battled in the second set, using a mixture of forehands and backhands to make her opponent run more. However, Elbaba was there for each hit, and while Salazar did tie up the set 3-3, there were many times where her returns landed in the alley or off the net. After losing the game and falling behind 4-3, Salazar walked to the sideline to associate head coach Shelley George, who was there to calm her down.

“I was just trying to get her to focus on the present,” George said. “She needs to play the point in front of her and not bring up a miss that she may have had.”

While Salazar was unsuccessful at upsetting Elbaba, she did battle back. Her and Shkudun weren’t the only two that fell in singles play, as Libi Mesh and Maria Tritou fell in the team’s Nos. 4 and 5 singles.

The loss of No. 1 and No. 2 singles proved to be crucial in Syracuse’s loss against two of the top 15 singles players in the country. It was a tall task, and one that put a hitch in what as been a near flawless start to the season.

“I think we came with a purpose,” Limam said. “We took it to them in a way most of the match. The last couple points later in the match made the difference.”

Published on February 21, 2016 at 5:51 pm

Contact Charlie: csdistur@syr.edu | @charliedisturco