As the ball floated into Syracuse’s half of the court, Gabriela Knutson had to quickly re-adjust her body to keep Colgate from scoring its first point of the match.

She leapt off the surface, stretched out her right arm and spiked the ball with a forceful backhand, capturing the point. Knutson and her doubles partner, Miranda Ramirez, were in control early in their first match together as SU’s No. 1 pairing in this season.

Up 4-0 in the first set, Knutson hit back-to-back serves into the net, handing Colgate’s Mackenzie Deeter and Jordan Williams their first and only point of the match. Walking to the other end of the court, Knutson threw her hands up in frustration.

“It’s tennis,” Knutson said. “It happens sometimes. I’ll mess up. I don’t think that double fault shows how I played the whole match.”

Knutson and Ramirez went on cruise control for the rest of the match and won, 6-1, en route to Syracuse (2-0) defeating Colgate (0-1), 7-0, on Friday afternoon at Drumlins Country Club. For the second-straight meet, the Orange won all 15 sets played. After resting against Niagara on Jan. 21, Ramirez made her season debut, partnering with Knutson in doubles, and sliding in at the No. 2 slot in singles.

Despite her frustration, Knutson knew she and Ramirez remained in complete control of the match. For the final two points in the set, the duo dictated play, sending balls to all quadrants of the court in an attempt to fatigue Deeter and Williams. After a Ramirez drop shot secured a 6-1 win, Knutson was all smiles.

“I just hit one double-fault, but other than that it was smooth sailing,” Knutson said. “I don’t think the match was really complicated for us, we weren’t worried at all.”

Just 10 minutes later, Knutson was back on the court, this time for the No. 1 singles matchup against Deeter. While all five of her teammates won the first two points of their respective matches, Knutson found herself and Deeter knotted at one. She had made several unforced errors, but just like in her doubles match, she took an extra moment to collect herself between points. From there, Knutson returned to her normal self.

After two straight backhand winners helped her gain a 2-1 advantage, Knutson was cruising. She refused to loosen up, however, as a determined look stayed on her face for the rest of the set. Once she secured a 6-1 victory, Knutson finally broke a smile after an exchange with associate head coach Shelley George.

Syracuse head coach Younes Limam was not worried about Knutson’s hiccups that led to dropping points. In early-season games like this afternoon’s, it is a good thing to be challenged, Limam said.

“We try to keep them mainly focused and having a simple strategy they can go to,” Limam said. “It’s a good thing sometimes when they get pushed and things get close.”

Published on January 26, 2018 at 6:55 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu