Previewing No. 16 seed Syracuse’s path through ACC Tournament
Syracuse will open its ACC Tournament against No. 17 seed Boston College after stumbling to a 2-10 conference record. Adeline Taylor | Contributing Photographer
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Syracuse’s last Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament victory came in 2019 against Georgia Tech. Since then, the Orange have struggled, especially in ACC play. In the 69 ACC matches after its 4-3 win over the Yellow Jackets, SU has only won 22 (32%) — the fourth-worst among ACC teams in that span.
In 2025, the Orange produced their lowest win total against conference foes (two) since joining the ACC in 2013-14. However, Syracuse went 7-0 in nonconference play, marking the first time it went undefeated in nonconference games in head coach Younes Limam’s 11-year tenure.
But for the fifth consecutive year, Limam’s squad totaled at least eight defeats in conference play, leading to Syracuse’s lowest-ever seed (No. 16) in the ACC Tournament after the tournament’s expansion to 17 teams this season.
Here’s a look at Syracuse’s (9-10, 2-10 ACC) road ahead in the 2025 ACC Tournament:
1st round: No. 17 seed Boston College
In the opening tournament matchup on Tuesday, Syracuse takes on No. 17 seed Boston College. When the teams faced off in early February, SU’s 5-2 win didn’t count as an ACC match. According to an SU Athletics spokesperson, SU and BC agreed beforehand that the match would instead be scored as one of the Orange’s seven nonconference contests.
The newly-formed doubles pair of Monika Wojcik and Serafima Shastova, who’ve teamed up in the 13 matches since then, got the ball rolling by winning the No. 3 doubles. A 6-4 win in the No. 2 doubles sealed SU’s fifth doubles point in six games, before singles victories by Wojcik, Shiori Ito, Shastova and Miyuka Kimoto clinched SU’s sixth straight win.
Tuesday’s match looks favorable for Syracuse because of BC’s recent struggles. Since falling to SU, the Eagles won two of their next 15 matches. BC ended its regular season with a nine-game losing streak, placing it last in the conference.
2nd round: No. 9 seed Clemson
If Syracuse gets through BC for the seventh straight time, it’ll match up with Clemson on Wednesday. SU has only competed in the second round of the ACC Tournament three times since joining in 2014.
Between their conference wins against Florida State and Louisville, the Orange went on a six-match losing streak. One of the defeats came against the Tigers, where the nine-time ACC Tournament champions dispatched Syracuse 4-2 after winning the doubles point and three of the five completed singles matches.
Before facing SU, Clemson was 12-6. However, after beating Syracuse on March 23, the Tigers went 1-4 and fell to 14-10 on the season. Clemson’s frequent No. 1 and No. 2 singles Amelie Smejkalova and Sophia Hatton began the year with 14 wins in 16 matches.
But since then, the duo has only won four of their next 26, one of which was Hatton’s first ACC win against Nelly Knezkova. Similar to SU’s Shastova and Wojcik (11), Anabelle Davis leads the Tigers in singles victories (10) from primarily the No. 3 spot.
Syracuse has never won back-to-back matches in the ACC Tournament. But it could change that against an out-of-form Clemson.
3rd round: No. 8 seed Georgia Tech
Downing Clemson would pit Syracuse against the last team it beat in the ACC Tournament, No. 8 seed Georgia Tech, on Thursday.
The Yellow Jackets have won their last five encounters, including a 4-2 win over SU in March. GT won all three doubles matches, marking the third time the Orange were swept in doubles. In singles, Georgia Tech’s Alejandra Cruz and Scarlett Nicholson picked up victories over Kimoto and Knezkova, respectively. Wins from Ito and Shastova pulled the Orange within one before Taly Licht clinched the victory by defeating Anastasia Sysoeva.
After two victories in three days against SU and BC, GT rose to No. 25 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings and followed with a 4-0 win against Wake Forest. A 4-3 loss to then-No. 11 NC State dropped it outside the rankings’ top 25 before losing two of its final three matches.
No. 85 Cruz, No. 31 Nicholson and Licht all registered at least seven singles wins in conference play, while no Syracuse player reached that feat in 2025. But if SU can keep it close again, it might have a chance based on its down-to-the-wire matches against Miami, FSU, Virginia Tech and Louisville.
Quarterfinal: No. 1 seed Duke
Winning three matches in three days would set up a date with the undefeated ACC regular-season champions, No. 1 seed Duke, on Friday. Syracuse has never beaten the 18-time ACC Tournament Champions.
When the two sides squared off in SU’s second ACC match of the season, it was the same-old story. Then-No. 10 Duke pulled out a 4-1 win — its 15th consecutive victory over the Orange. Yet, SU tallied two victories over ranked opponents in the loss.
Syracuse snagged a 6-3 win in the No. 1 doubles match against No. 15 Elizabeth Coleman and Irina Balus. In singles, SU’s sole win came from Kimoto’s two-set triumph over then-No. 8 Balus. As a result, Kimoto and Knezkova collected weekly ACC awards on Feb. 25.
If Syracuse does face Duke, it might not have the whole formula to defeat the Blue Devils. But it could have the start of one.
Semifinal: Likely No. 4 seed Virginia
Four wins, twice as many as Syracuse’s two-win conference season, would likely mean a semifinal matchup against No. 4 seed Virginia on Saturday.
The potential matchup would come 13 days after then-No. 5 Virginia dominated Syracuse in a 4-1 win that handed the Orange their sixth straight loss. All three of UVA’s doubles teams beat their Orange counterpart, including the No. 1 doubles pair in the country, Melodie Collard and Elaine Chervinsky.
The Cavaliers also possess three top-40 ITA singles players in No. 22 Chervinsky, No. 26 Sara Ziodato and No. 37 Anabelle Xu. However, SU’s lone point on April 6 came against that group. Shastova beat then-No. 30 Xu in two sets at the No. 3 spot, which held a team-worst 5-11 record entering the match. It’s a matchup SU could potentially expose to pull off a massive upset.
Championship: Likely No. 2 seed North Carolina or No. 3 seed NC State
Chasing its first-ever ACC Tournament championship and fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, Syracuse will likely have to go through No. 2 seed North Carolina or No. 3 seed NC State.
Syracuse’s first ACC match was a 4-0 loss to UNC, which then possessed four top-40 ITA singles players and two top-15 doubles pairs, including No. 4 Reese Brantmeier, the highest-ranked singles player in the ACC. It was the first of two times SU was swept and the first of four where the Orange totaled less than two victories in singles and doubles competition combined.
If SU doesn’t play the 12-time ACC Tournament champions, it’d likely face the 2023 champions, No. 12 NC State. Although the two teams didn’t meet in 2025, the last time the Orange and Wolfpack met was Syracuse’s last win over an ITA-ranked opponent before its win over No. 62 Louisville on April 11. This campaign, the Wolfpack went 10-2 in the ACC and 11-0 at home. Their only losses in ACC play were back-to-back against the then-No. 7 Blue Devils and then-No. 4 Tar Heels in March.
