Up 4-3 in the second set against Clemson’s Beatrice Gumulya, sophomore Rhiann Newborn had an opportunity to do what no other Syracuse singles player could on Sunday.

Having notched the first set 6-3, Newborn was already the only Syracuse player to win a set. Now, she was only two games shy of preventing the Orange from being swept by the Tigers.

But Newborn lost three of the next four games and dropped the set, 7-5. She then fell 10-5 in the super tiebreaker, and Syracuse (6-8, 1-7 Atlantic Coast) had suddenly suffered a 7-0 shutout loss for the second time in as many matches, this time to No. 15 Clemson (10-6, 5-2) at Drumlins Tennis Center.

“I just felt like I hit more errors than normally,” Newborn said of the second set and tiebreaker. “I also felt like I kind of backed up, and I was just rallying more, trying to be more consistent instead of playing aggressive like I was in the first set.

“If I just kept playing aggressive, that would’ve been a different match.”

Newborn opened her match playing near flawless tennis. Limiting unforced errors and using an array of aggressive shots both from the baseline and at the net, she grabbed a 5-1 lead before closing out the set three games later.

“She played very good tennis,” SU head coach Younes Limam said. “She was being aggressive, and she really relies on her strengths. She was using her forehand more. Her first-serve percentage was high. That’s what really allowed her to come through in the first set.”

For much of the second set, it appeared as if Newborn would cruise to an easy win. She went up a break almost immediately when she broke Gumulya’s serve in the third game. From there, she only needed to hold serve to win the match.

But Newborn dropped a game on serve at 4-3 and then again at 5-6, allowing Gumulya to win the set. While trailing 4-5, Newborn fended off five set points before ultimately losing the game.

“It makes it tougher,” Newborn said about continually being down set point. “… But I just had to keep fighting and doing my best.”

In the super tiebreaker, Newborn took a 3-0 lead before dropping 10 of the next 12 points to lose the match. In both the second set and tiebreaker, she came out on the wrong end of several long rallies.

“I think she was fighting the whole way,” freshman Nicole Mitchell said. “(Gumulya) just got back a lot of really great shots, so I don’t know if it’s anything Rhiann did wrong. The other girl just came out on top.”

Newborn’s match was the last of the six singles matches to finish. No other Syracuse player managed to win more than seven total games. Newborn won 11. And even after a loss, she made an effort to stay optimistic.

“I’m going to be positive,” she said. “… I’m going to take away from this all of the positive things I did in the first set.”

Published on March 22, 2015 at 7:10 pm

Contact Michael: mdburk01@syr.edu