Syracuse completes comeback, beats Louisville 4-3
Syracuse came back from down 3-0 to down Louisville 4-3, notching its first win in six weeks. Henry Zhang | Staff Photographer
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It doesn’t take long to find the last time Syracuse entered its final weekend of Atlantic Coast Conference play on a losing streak. In 2024, the Orange finished their regular season with one win in their final seven matches before losing to Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC Tournament. So far, SU’s 2025 season has been a carbon copy.
After its sole conference win against Florida State on March 2, Syracuse lost its next six matches by a combined score of 25-11. Similar to a year ago, the Orange’s last ACC matches before the conference tournament are against Louisville and Notre Dame, starting with the Cardinals on Friday.
Instead of dropping double-digit matches in ACC play for the first time since 2015, Syracuse (9-9, 2-9 ACC) snagged four straight singles victories after falling down 3-0 to beat Louisville (11-9, 3-8 ACC) 4-3. The victory marked Syracuse’s first ACC road win in 1,091 days.
Entering the 2024 season, Louisville had rarely lost 18 or more matches. The last time it did was in its fourth year as a program, 2001-02, when it resided in Conference USA. Yet, last year, the Cardinals totaled their most losses (19) in program history, highlighted by a 17-match losing streak after winning three of their first four.
This season, the Cardinals again won three of their first four matches. However, unlike its previous campaign, Louisville registered eight more wins, eclipsing its four-win total from 2024 and ending its 16-match losing streak against ACC opponents by beating FSU.
After two wins in its last four, Louisville started fast against Syracuse by winning the doubles point. This marked the seventh consecutive time Syracuse has dropped the doubles point in ACC play this season.
At first, it seemed like Louisville would run away with a commanding victory.
Allie Gretkowski’s first-set bagel victory had her rolling. Despite Anastasia Sysoeva — who hasn’t won a singles match since Feb. 28 against Miami — winning the second set, three straight wins in the third set sprung a lead that Gretkowski never relinquished.
Louisville’s 2-0 advantage grew to three after Miyuka Kimoto, who retained her spot in the No. 1 singles, sent her forehand too far.
But from then on, it was all Syracuse.
Serafima Shastova, Shiori Ito and Monika Wojcik all secured victories in three sets against Elena Noguero, Germany Davis and Berta Miret, respectively, to eliminate the Cardinals’ 3-0 lead. Once again, the match rested on Nelly Knezkova.
Against the Seminoles, the match was up to Knezkova’s No. 2 singles match against Millie Bissett after Ito dropped her match against FSU’s Laura Putz. Knezkova’s backhand gave Younes Limam’s squad its first ACC win since a 7-0 defeat of the same Louisville team that registered its most single-season losses last year. Yet, Friday was different.
Losing her last six singles matches, Knezkova has struggled to refind the form that almost defeated North Carolina’s then-No. 13 Thea Rabman in February. Knezkova needed another moment like the one against the Seminoles. Against the Cardinals, she got it.
In the third set, Lika Peresypkina’s short forehand was offset by Knezkova’s out-of-bounds return. After originally trailing 5-3 in the third set, Peresypkina’s poor serve return tied the match at five as both Louisville and Syracuse turned their attention to the No. 2 singles match.
The Kamyanske, Ukraine native’s long forehand, coupled with a wide shot, put Knezkova within one game of another dramatic come-from-behind victory.
A Knezkova ace gave Syracuse a 15-love lead, which grew to 30-love after Peresypkina’s backhand hit the fence next to the court. After the point concession, Peresypkina looked to regather herself as she stared at the Cardinal logo planted behind her.
In the following exchange, Knezkova raced to the net to make it 40-love but put too much on her backhand. At 30-15, Peresypkina’s forehand sailed into the net once more to make it 40-15.
At match point, Peresypkina got her forehand wrong once again, giving Knezkova the win. Knezkova was swarmed by her teammates, as she was the hero once again, snapping the Orange’s six-game losing streak and building momentum toward the ACC Tournament.
