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Coming into the season, Syracuse head coach Younes Limam acknowledged how difficult it would be to stack wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference. With Syracuse poised to face three top-25 opponents in ACC play, Limam harped on how important it was to “focus on ourselves, not the opponents.”

Throughout conference play, Limam has been pleased with his team’s resolve and battle, but the effort has not translated to wins. Nelly Knezkova’s dramatic singles victory against Miami embodied that resolve, but that magical moment produced the Orange’s only single win to date.

The journey did not get any easier on Saturday, as the Orange took on yet another formidable opponent in No. 31 Clemson after falling to No. 29 Georgia Tech on Friday. Similarly, Syracuse (8-7, 1-7 ACC) battled valiantly but its comeback efforts came up short as it fell to Clemson (13-6, 3-4 ACC) 4-2. SU lost the doubles point for the fourth straight match, and the Tigers outlasted the Orange in singles.

On paper, Syracuse matched up well with Clemson, as its duos were not as highly touted as some of the other elite ACC teams. Headlining the No. 1 doubles were Syracuse’s Knezkova and Shiori Ito against Clemson’s Amelie Smejkalova and Gaia Parravicini.

But Clemson’s duo came out of the gate with a surge of energy, emphatically dunking it at the net to win the first game and take a 1-0 advantage. The Tigers are just 1-3 at home in conference play coming into the game, and it made sure to make a statement early.

Both sides split the next four games. Leading 3-2, Clemson once again displayed its prowess at the net, clinically scrambling the SU duo and dinking shots to the opposite side of the court to take a 4-2 lead. From there, the Tigers cruised to a 6-3 victory and were one match away from claiming the doubles point.

Serafima Shastova and Monika Wojcik, SU’s most consistent tandem in conference play, jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Annabelle Davis and Sophia Hatton. But the SU duo missed an opportunity at the net to extend its advantage.

Leading 2-1 and down 40-30 in the fourth game, SU blundered another volley at the net. Shastova’s shot landed long, leaving her standing by the net in disbelief. Clemson carried that momentum into the following two games to win its fourth straight and take a 4-2 lead.

At match point, with Clemson’s lead at 5-4, it fittingly won the battle at the net again to put its first point on the board.

Syracuse’s singles struggle in conference has been well documented. SU managed a 34-8 singles record in nonconference play. In conference play, however, that record dropped to 11-24 coming into Sunday’s match.

Ito, fresh off a singles victory Friday, worked in the No. 5 singles position against Artemis Aslanishvili. This time, though, Ito did not have the same success. Aslanishvili blitzed her out of the gate to take a 4-0 lead.

Aslanishvili didn’t look back from there, winning the first set 6-1. Ito utilized her quickness to make the second set more competitive, but Aslanishvili was able to cruise to a 6-3 second-set victory.

Adjacent to Ito, Wojcik made quick work of Parravicini, displaying her signature one-hand backhand throughout her two-set victory, and winning 6-3, 6-2.

The Orange’s upset hopes came alive as Miyuka Kimoto closed out Smejkalova 6-3 in the first set. Tied at 2-2 in the second set, Kimoto won three straight games. Leading 5-2 and at match point, Smejkalova’s lob sailed out of play and SU now needed to win two out of the three remaining matches to clinch victory.

After falling in the first set 6-4, Shastova dominated Davis 6-1 to set up a third set. But Davis’s durability wore out Shastova in the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Shastova had an opportunity to take a 30-0 lead in the fifth game, but her return landed way short of the net.

With Davis defeating Shastova 6-1, SU’s comeback hopes rested on Knezkova’s shoulders in the third set. But a similar story played out, as Hatton, up 2-0 and 40-15 in the third set, squared her shoulders and fired a whizzing forehand past Knezkova.

That lead extended to 5-1, and with Knezkova leading 40-0, Hatton miraculously won the following three points to take it to deuce. Knezkova’s return on the deuce point came up short of the net, and SU’s comeback effort came up short.

Published on March 23, 2025 at 4:37 pm