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This season is a tale of two sides for Syracuse. On one hand, SU, led by newcomers Monika Wojcik and Nelly Knezkova, is undefeated in nonconference play for the first time since it joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013. However, the Orange won just two regular season ACC contests, the second-fewest in the conference behind just Boston College.

Coming into the ACC Tournament as the No. 16 seed, SU looked to break two negative trends: early tournament exits and poor doubles play. It did so Tuesday by defeating No. 17 seed Boston College 4-2, winning its first ACC Tournament game since 2019 and doubles point in over a month.

On Wednesday, the Orange faced No. 9 seed Clemson, a more formidable opponent, which they’d lost to on March 23. Despite a late singles scare, Syracuse (11-10, 2-10 ACC) downed Clemson (14-11, 4-8 ACC) 4-3 to advance to the third round of the ACC Tournament for the first time ever to face No. 8 seed Georgia Tech Thursday. SU won the doubles point for the second straight day before winning three singles matches en route to victory.

When Shiori Ito and Knezkova battled Clemson’s Gaia Parravicini and Amelie Smejkalova in the two squads’ regular-season matchup, the Tigers’ No. 1 doubles duo cruised to a 6-3 victory. Despite Syracuse jumping out to an early 1-0 lead Wednesday, Clemson tallied four straight points, taking a 4-1 lead and never relinquishing it for another 6-3 win.

Looking for a pulse, No. 3 doubles, Syracuse’s Serafima Shastova and Wojcik paired up against Clemson’s Sophia Hatton and Annabelle Davis. With SU up 3-2, Shastova slammed a return over Clemson and out of play.

With SU up 5-4, a Clemson sideways shot hit the left end of the net, giving Syracuse the point. The doubles outcome then relied on a decisive No. 2 match between SU’s Miyuka Kimoto and Anastasia Sysoeva and Clemson’s Romana Cisovska and Candela Yecora.

With a 4-2 advantage, Kimoto alternated between backhands and forehands before a weak return by Clemson led to Sysoeva hammering down the ball to capture the point. As Sysoeva’s well-placed forehand narrowly stayed inbounds, Clemson stood close to the net before slowly penetrating backward. However, it couldn’t recover quickly enough, and SU captured the doubles point.

After going winless at the No. 2 doubles spot from March 7 to April 15, Sysoeva picked up her second consecutive win.

Against Boston College on Tuesday, SU faltered in two of its first three singles matches. Shastova fell to BC’s Tola Glowacka in two sets, and Knezkova lost to Boston College’s Olivia Benton in similar fashion.

Shastova got off to a faster start in the No. 3 singles Wednesday and never looked back. The junior soared to a 4-1 lead, and despite Davis fighting back, Shastova claimed the first set. The second set continued Shastova’s dominance, culminating in a 16-shot rally ending with Davis’ shot hitting the middle of the net. She claimed the point, boosting SU’s lead to 2-0.

While Sysoeva got a brief taste of Clemson during her No. 4 singles battle earlier this season, the match went unfinished. But her struggles at both the No. 3 and 4 singles spots have been noticeable in conference play.

Those woes continued on Wednesday, as Artemis Aslanisvili outmatched Sysoeva in a two-set defeat. Strong footwork and ball placement catapulted Clemson to a 6-2 first-set victory. Not much changed in another 6-2 win in the second set, as a perfectly executed serve fazed Sysoeva.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Ito battled Yecora in the No. 6 singles. The senior took a quick 3-0 lead after watching an ill-advised Clemson serve airmailed. However, Yecora quickly took command, taking the first-set victory.

Ito held a 4-1 lead after reeling off two straight points in the second set, as Yecora’s late-set adjustments weren’t enough to take a lead.

With the overall match knotted at two and momentum shifting toward the Tigers, Knezkova aimed to rebound from Tuesday’s loss to Benton at the No. 2 singles spot.

With a convincing 5-2 lead against Hatton in the first set, Knezkova’s backhand barely stayed in play for the victory.

Despite falling behind 3-1 in the following set, Knezkova watched a bullet off Hatton’s racket crash into the net to put her up 5-3. Soon after, Knezkova’s well-timed serve led to winning the set.

One win away from advancing to the third round, SU only needed one more singles match to fall its way.

The fate of Syracuse’s season then came down to the No. 1 singles, where SU Kimoto squared off against Clemson’s Smejkalova.

Although Kimoto defeated Smejkalova 6-3 in the first set, Clemson battled back and won an intense second set 7-6.

With the Orange up 6-5 in a back-and-forth third set, Clemson was left perplexed as Kimoto aced a ball over the net following a 10-shot rally to clinch the match for SU. The rally win advanced Syracuse to the third round.

In the tournament’s next round on Thursday, the Orange take on No. 8 Georgia Tech, who they lost 4-2 to on March 22.

Published on April 16, 2025 at 3:29 pm
sabrod@syr.edu