Sports SUmmary: Cisco declares for 2021 NFL draft after season-ending injury

Sports SUmmary: Cisco declares for 2021 NFL draft

Standout Syracuse safety announces he's ready to go pro.
Published: October 15, 2020
NCAA Football: Syracuse at Pittsburgh
Syracuse safety Andre Cisco, shown here against Pittsburgh last month, declared his plans to enter the 2021 NFL Draft.

Faced with a season-ending injury following a collision with a teammate in warm-ups prior to the Orange’s game against Georgia Tech on Sept. 26, Andre Cisco announced Tuesday he would forego his college eligibility to enter the draft.

Cisco proved his worth early in his college career by becoming the first true freshman in the program’s history to earn All-America honors. A top contender for the draft since, in his three seasons playing for SU, Cisco tallied 13 total interceptions, tying for fourth place with Walt Slovenski and trailing behind Anthony Smith, Tommy Myers and Markus Paul.

The 2021 NFL Draft is scheduled to take place April 29–May 1, 2021 in Cleveland.

DeVito injury unclear going into Liberty matchup on Saturday

Syracuse leading man Tommy DeVito injured his left leg following a sack in the fourth quarter of the Orange’s 38-24 loss to Duke on Saturday, and most expect him to be out for the season.

DeVito had to be helped off the field and spent the remainder of the game on crutches and wearing a boot, watching backup quarterback Rex Culpepper from the sidelines.

Coach Dino Babers said the injury was “not good” on Saturday but failed to provide any more details during Monday’s pregame press conference.

Other players, including breakout star Sean Tucker, were injured in Saturday’s game as well. All these injuries don’t look good for a squad already relying on their second-string players. The biggest loss for the Orange – prior to DeVito’s injury – was All-American safety Andre Cisco, who was injured by a teammate during warmups before the Georgia Tech game.

Shemanova passes 1,000-kill benchmark in weekend matchup against Louisville

Syracuse’s Polina Shemanova surpassed the 1,000-kill mark in the Orange’s loss to Louisville on Saturday, becoming only the 17th player in program history to do so. Shemanova’s performance comes with good news for SU fans – as a junior, the outside hitter still has another season of significant contributions to the team.

Shemanova came into her third season with 932 total kills; it only took her six games to exceed 1,000. After the weekend’s doubleheader against Louisville, the St. Petersburg, Russia native now has a career 1,012 kills.

Polina Shemanova (11) and teammates celebrate during Syracuse's match on Sept. 25, 2020, vs. Pittsburgh.
Polina Shemanova (11) and teammates celebrate during Syracuse's match on Sept. 25, 2020, vs. Pittsburgh. Shemanova's 20-kill performance pushed the Orange past the Panthers in Pitt's first ACC loss since 2018.

Uncertain circumstances call for flexible schedules

After slow starts to the season, hindered by COVID-19 positive players and changing school situations, men’s soccer and field hockey have added games to fill the gap left by postponed matchups.

Field hockey traveled to Virginia Beach on Saturday for a neutral-site make-up game against Duke. The game was originally scheduled for Sept. 20.

Going into the game, Orange field hockey was 0-2 after a pair of one-goal losses against Virginia. Despite the rough start to the year, Syracuse came out on top in this match thanks to junior Laura Graziosi’s goal in the 53rd minute to push the Orange past Duke, 4-3.

As for men’s soccer, the team’s first two games were cancelled. Now, the team is 0-2 after losing their only matches of the season thus far. The Orange will return to the SU Soccer Stadium to host Louisville on Friday at 8 p.m.