Miranda Ramirez bounced in place and stared over the net. Emmanuelle Salas had cheated up on Ramirez’s second serve the point prior, and her forehand winner blazed down the line. It was match point for Ramirez, and she didn’t convert.

“I can’t lose this set,” Ramirez remembered thinking to herself as she waited. A third set would make Syracuse’s potential comeback, once down 3-1, harder and erase Ramirez’s convincing first set.

She eyed Salas’ serve and pounced with a forehand. Ramirez dragged her from corner-to-corner, before an attempted slice from the Florida State junior fell short of the net. After the next point, the court’s scorecard showed an orange “7” and a black “6.” The television scoreboard added one to SU’s total. Ramirez’s win trimmed SU’s deficit from one to none. All eyes turned to Sofya Golubovskaya on court two, who clinched a win.

In Syracuse’s (11-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) 4-3 comeback win over Florida State (14-5, 9-3) on Sunday afternoon, Ramirez kept the Orange alive with a 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) victory. Syracuse was down 3-1 at one point, but three straight singles wins — capped off by Golubovskaya’s three-set thriller — propelled the Orange to defeat the No. 15 team in the nation. If Ramirez’s match went into a third set, it could’ve been a different story. But her fourth-straight singles victory gave Syracuse the life it needed, and Golubovskaya capitalized. 

“Seeing Miranda coming through with those big moments, shifting that momentum and just putting more pressure on Florida State was huge,” SU head coach Younes Limam said.

After the first set, Ramirez was in control. Her forehand rallies stretched Salas around the court, from net to baseline. The junior looked comfortable in her second singles match, a spot Limam said earlier in the season three or four players could slot at and succeed. Salas resorted to defensive lobs on many points. Ramirez pinned, but remained patient on the winners.

Ramirez stayed back and played the bounce, avoiding the problems Golubovskaya faced in her doubles matchup. Up by a break midway through the first set, the junior brought Salas to the corner on consecutive shots. Ramirez met the second lob sprinting toward the net, and her soft slice bounced twice before Salas outstretched racket reached it.

Two points later, Salas again fought off a forehand with a defensive lob. Collected, Ramirez followed it into her racket, and shot a winner into the corner.

But Salas didn’t allow Ramirez the same openings in the second frame. For the first time all match, Salas’ aces washed out Ramirez’s winners. Salas flashed a backhand to counter Ramirez’s forehand. For the first time, Ramirez was forced to adjust.

Salas broke her, then Ramirez won the next game to go back on serve. Ramirez started to slap her thigh and talk to herself. Trailing 6-5 and needing the next game to win in straight-sets, Salas fired an ace past Ramirez. She blinked repeatedly, stunned at the serve. But Ramirez resorted back to what worked in the first set: patience and her strong forehand. An unforced error from Salas combined with a crosscourt forehand got Ramirez her break back. The junior from Texas didn’t lose another game.

“It was very, very nerve racking,” Ramirez said. “But I just had to remember to stay calm, play my shots, play my game. I’ve done this before.”

A final forehand shot led to a final missed shot from Salas, and Ramirez shouted “Come on.” She fist bumped Knutson, hugged a professor and smiled.

Her match finished, Ramirez’s “refuse to lose attitude” having worked once again, she joined the rest of her SU teammates on court three. They stood in a straight line, and watched Golubovskaya’s comeback.  

Ramirez paced back and forth. Left foot, right foot, then back to the left. She bent down to tie her shoe. Her nerves kicked in again, acting  like Golubovskaya’s match “was my own.” Drumlins Country Club was silent, except for Golubovskaya bouncing the tennis ball.

After Ana Oparenovic’s service return went long out of bounds, and Syracuse charged the court to mob Golubovskaya. Twenty minutes later, the courts nearly empty once again, Ramirez strolled back to court four. She grabbed her red Wilson bag off the bench, and left to pick up her gray sweater from court three.

Behind her, the orange “7,” and a black “6” still showed on the two scorecards. The set up to Syracuse’s comeback. 

Published on March 24, 2019 at 4:46 pm

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