Syracuse exits ACC Tournament in 4-1 loss to Wake Forest
Despite beating Wake Forest 4-3 earlier this season, No. 13 seed Syracuse could not do it again in the ACC Tournament Wednesday. Peter Radosh | Asst. Copy Editor
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The postseason in sports can do one of two things: It can either elevate teams to another level and unlock the David within that can take down Goliaths, or it can reinforce and magnify everything that was seen in the regular season.
Syracuse’s regular season was far from pretty. It only won three Atlantic Coast Conference showdowns and dropped multiple games during the nonconference schedule. Many of its losses weren’t close.
On Wednesday, No. 13 seed Syracuse had the opportunity to flip the script and advance to the ACC Tournament’s third round for the second year in a row — something it had never accomplished before. The only thing that stood in its way was the No. 12 seed Wake Forest squad that SU had already beaten on the road less than a month ago.
However, Syracuse (7-12, 3-9 ACC) didn’t rise to the postseason occasion, but rather locked the team into its regular season form with a 4-1 loss to the Demon Deacons (13-12, 4-8 ACC). Wake Forest won the doubles point and never looked back, only dropping three total sets in singles.
After losing 4-3 to SU, Wake Forest went on to win three out of its remaining five matches ahead of the tournament. Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum also climbed all the way to No. 66 in doubles, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
On the other side, Syracuse only won one match after its meeting with the Demon Deacons, defeating Georgia Tech 4-1 in Drumlins Country Club. Syracuse also entered the tournament without any ranked players.
As doubles began, SU was quickly outmatched. It swiftly lost the first set in all three matches, with the No. 2 and No. 3 matches quickly falling to a 4-1 deficit. The Orange started to find their footing as the matches went on. At No. 2, Serafima Shastova and Monika Wojcik came all the way back, tying the match at four.
No. 3 also started to come back, but ultimately fell 6-3. Shortly after, Shastova and Wojcik lost momentum, losing the set 6-4 and winning Wake the doubles point.
This season, Syracuse struggled when it has dropped the doubles point, only winning one match without it. Ironically, the match against Wake Forest was the one it was able to come back from despite an early deficit.
Knowing this, SU shouldn’t have been discouraged as singles began. Once again, the Orange started out slow, splitting the first games.
Despite this, Shastova added to her impressive 2026 senior campaign. She picked up her eighth win of the season in stunning fashion. After dropping the first game, she won five in a row before closing out the first set with a dominant 6-2 scoreline. The second set was looking to be more of the same before her opponent was forced to retire the match, giving Shastova an early victory.
This was the only thing to go in Syracuse’s favor. Leena Bennetto couldn’t hang with Wake’s Sankavi Gownder. Gownder took the first set off a deuce point, propelling her in the second set to win 6-3, 6-2. Additionally, Anastasia Sysoeva started each set strong, building a small lead or keeping the match even, but slowly lost more and more points in a 6-2, 6-2 loss.
Facing a 3-1 deficit, Nelly Knezkova gave Syracuse its only other set in a thrilling 7-6 tiebreak against Evie Oxford where she came back late. Knezkova was also leading in her second set before the match was abandoned.
With the match on the line, Monika Wojcik dropped her first set 7-5. After taking a critical deuce point to go up 5-4, Wojcik failed to capitalize.
The deficit now seemed insurmountable. With her back against the wall, Emma Scaldalai, trailing 5-2, brutally mishit the final serve, giving the match to Wake Forest and ending Syracuse’s season.
After a season with some highs and many lows, the Orange were simply outclassed in their first match of the ACC Tournament. This season took SU in a positive direction overall and has given head coach Younes Limam something to build on next season.
