Syracuse loses to Florida State 4-2, falls to 2-8 in ACC play
Syracuse fell to 2-8 in ACC play with a 4-2 loss to FSU Sunday. Serafima Shastova and Emma Scaldalai impressed, but their teammates struggled. Peter Radosh | Asst. Copy Editor
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It’s not often a team looks across the court and sees itself. But that’s close to what Syracuse faced when it took on Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida, Sunday.
For the Orange, it was like looking in a mirror. Another team in the bottom third of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which has struggled against conference opponents and reached its standard.
But when SU and FSU stared at each other over the net Sunday afternoon, something had to give. One team would leave with a conference victory, while the other would sink deeper into the basement of the ACC.
The Seminoles (6-14, 2-8 ACC) defeated the Orange (6-11, 2-8 ACC) 4-2 to grab their second conference victory. Syracuse found itself in an early hole in doubles and couldn’t battle back in singles.
Doubles started as poorly as it could’ve for the Orange. Their top pair of Nelly Knezkova and Anastasia Sysoeva continued to struggle after enormous success in nonconference play. Despite holding a lead midway through the match, the duo lost 5-7.
The other two doubles matches didn’t go well for Syracuse either. Serafima Shastova and Monika Wojcik pushed the No. 2 match to a tiebreak, but they were unable to seize the victory.
In the No. 3 match, Emma Scaldalai and Leena Bennetto were boat-raced, losing 6-3 in a match that was nowhere near competitive.
Yet, singles started well for SU. It took an early lead in four matches, but it crumbled late, never pulling away from the Seminoles.
It was an up-and-down first set for Syracuse. Sysoeva and Knezkova both held leads that quickly evaporated, and Wojcik fell into an early 4-0 hole.
However, Sysoeva and Wojcik both dug in and fought back. Alongside them was Bennetto, who erased a two-game deficit. The three of them each forced a tiebreak, and the Orange seemed to have some life.
But, none of them won the tiebreak, resulting in three first-set losses.
In the second set, Wojcik couldn’t build momentum and fell 6-1, a rare defeat from one of the Orange’s most consistent players. Knezkova was also unable to dispatch her opponent, Tina Li, in the second set, which forced a third set.
On the other courts, Sysoeva and Bennetto were both excellent in their second sets. They each won 6-4 and forced third sets, which tallied SU’s second and third third sets of the day. With the overall match score tied at 2-2, whoever won two of those three third sets would secure the victory.
When it mattered, the Orange simply couldn’t pull through. Sysoeva was down 5-3 before the match went unfinished. Knezkova put up a fight but lost 6-4.
Eventually, it all came down to Bennetto. With her back against the wall, she couldn’t come up clutch. She was blanked 6-0, and the Seminoles clinched their victory.
The silver lining on a rough afternoon for Syracuse? A lights-out performance from Shastova, and a win from Scaldalai, who continues to improve upon a slow start to the season.
Shastova was on cruise control with a 6-0, 6-1 win, putting the Orange on the board. Scaldalai was also tremendous. The freshman had struggled throughout conference play, but she won 6-2 in straight sets to give Syracuse its second point of the day.
SU’s loss Sunday was perhaps its worst of the season, continuing to fall further and further away from being competitive in the nation’s toughest conference.
