Gabriella Knutson let out a scream of joy and the crowd came to its feet as the freshman put the finishing touches on a dominant afternoon. Knutson, whose energy carried Syracuse the whole weekend, finished her day before the Domino’s Pizza delivery for those in attendance even made it to Drumlins Country Club.

After an upset win over Wake Forest, Knutson and the No. 40 Orange (10-6, 4-6 Atlantic Coast) cruised to a 6-1 victory over 57th-ranked Florida State (9-11, 1-9) on Sunday at in just over half the time it took to beat Wake Forest on Friday. In particular, the duo of Knutson and Valeria Salazar dominated their doubles match and Knutson, Syracuse’s best and most consistent player on Sunday, steamrolled through Florida State’s Gabriella Castaneda in two straight single games, 6-2 and 6-1.

Assistant Coach Shelley George was proud of her players and singled out Salazar and Knutson for their performances this weekend. Knutson, she said, can quickly turn a match upside down with her energy and quick pace.

“Gabby’s a very good competitor,” George said.” She’s got amazing groundstrokes and she can tear an opponent apart, just with her energy on the court, just with how fierce she is.”

Knutson said that in doubles, after blocking out outside noise, she and Salazar were able to play their game and come away with a quick victory.

When Syracuse has been up before their opponents this weekend the pressure would subside and allow them to strike.

“First shots definitely helped us,” Knutson said. “We got a little nervous in the middle because of the intimidating cheering from the (Florida State team and fans). But we just (went ahead) and played our game and we were solid.”

Knutson carried her momentum from doubles over to singles and used aggressive play to win her match.

By speeding up the pace of her game and implementing strong, powerful serves along with unrelenting pressure to the net, Knutson was able to quickly find openings and swiftly defeat Castaneda.

“I (took) the time away from (Castaneda) and pushed her back (away from the net),” Knutson said..

With Syracuse’s two wins this weekend, March’s five-game losing streak headlined by a 7-0 drubbing by then-No. 4 North Carolina has slowly become a thing of the past. Syracuse has gained momentum heading into the final two weeks of the regular season in part due to the play of Knutson.

Knutson said that during the five-game losing streak she just wasn’t mentally where she needed to be.

“I lost focus a little bit because as my teammates were playing I (was) looking towards them to make sure they were winning,” Knutson said. “I lost my focus and (began) to miss shots. (Today) I zoned in and did whatever I had to do to (win).”

Head coach Younes Limam echoed George and felt that today’s win and the weekend as a whole brought the best out in his team and provided needed confidence for their next road trip.

“Friday we had our backs against the wall and we just kept plugging away and finding a way,” said Limam. “Today a lot of (players) players played close to their best tennis.”

Published on April 3, 2016 at 7:09 pm

Contact Jake: jafalk@syr.edu