No. 13 seed Syracuse tennis’ path to 1st-ever ACC Championship
Leena Bennetto (right) and Constance Levivier (left) celebrate during SU's match with Fordham. Both players will be key as the Orange look to earn their first-ever ACC Tournament title. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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Last season, Syracuse won its first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament match since 2019, besting Boston College 4-2 to advance to the second round.
SU didn’t stop there, upsetting Clemson in a 4-3 nail-biter. But Syracuse’s unexpected run came to a screeching halt when it was swept 4-0 by Georgia Tech in the third round.
While the Orange’s 2026 season was by no means impressive, they improved their conference record from 2-10 last year to 3-9 this season. They’ve finished with at least eight conference losses in the last six seasons, but unlike last year, Syracuse’s roster carries postseason experience. Both Nelly Knezkova and Serafima Shastova shone in singles against Clemson in 2025.
SU earned the No. 13 seed this year, giving it an automatic bid to the second round against Wake Forest Wednesday. Here is the road Syracuse (7-12, 3-9 ACC) will have to travel in the 2026 ACC Tournament:
2nd round: No. 12 seed Wake Forest
On March 27, Syracuse walked into Winston-Salem and earned a 4-3 comeback victory against the Demon Deacons, its second conference win of the season. It was Syracuse’s only outdoor victory amid persistent outdoor struggles.
Despite SU losing the doubles point, Shastova’s dominant singles performance gave it life. The match teetered both ways, but gritty three-set wins from Knezkova, Monika Wojcik and Leena Bennetto sealed Syracuse’s victory.
Wake Forest won most of the matches it was expected to this season; all four of its conference victories came against teams seeded lower than it. However, Syracuse was the only lower-seeded team to defeat the Demon Deacons.
SU already beat Wake Forest, and on Wednesday, it can prove that the first meeting wasn’t a fluke.
Ilyan Sarech | Design Editor
3rd round: No. 5 seed Miami
If it beats Wake Forest, Syracuse would then have the tall task of downing Miami. When the two squads faced off just two weeks ago, the Hurricanes dominated the Orange from start to finish in a 4-0 sweep.
Knezkova didn’t play in that match, and her absence was felt, as SU’s bottom four singles players struggled. Anastasia Sysoeva, however, won the first set of the No. 1 match and was tied in the second before Miami’s win was decided. SU was also a tiebreaker away from winning the doubles point.
Miami enters the tournament on a two-match losing streak, falling to No. 2 seed North Carolina and No. 4 seed Duke at home.
It’ll be an uphill battle, but with a healthy lineup, the Orange could stun the Hurricanes.
Quarterfinals: No. 4 seed Duke
If Syracuse made the ACC Quarterfinals on Friday, it would match up with No. 4 seed Duke. The Orange have never beaten the Blue Devils, losing all 16 of their head-to-head contests.
This trend continued when Duke swept Syracuse 4-0 on Feb. 22, and the Orange only won one set. SU’s lone saving grace was Sysoeva, who won the second set in the No. 2 singles match and was tied in the third before it was left unfinished.
Duke enters the tournament on a five-game winning streak, including impressive victories over NC State and Miami. The Blue Devils’ Irina Balus is currently ranked No. 16 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s singles rankings.
Reaching Friday in itself would be a success for Syracuse, but without a miracle, its road likely ends here.
Semifinals: Likely No. 1 seed Virginia
Waiting on the other end of that miracle would likely be No. 1 seed Virginia, which finished undefeated in conference play.
Although Syracuse didn’t see UVA this season, the Cavaliers beat SU 4-1 when they faced off last year. Shastova excelled in that match, sweeping the first set and winning 6-4 in the second at the No. 3 singles. She beat ITA’s No. 23 singles player Annabelle Xu, who has filled Virginia’s No. 1 or No. 2 singles spots this year.
UVA also boasts No. 81 Vivian Yang and No. 82 Katie Rolls. While the Cavaliers are the No. 1 seed for a reason, Duke’s Balus and No. 70 Aspen Schuman are ranked higher. If Syracuse can upset the Blue Devils, it might be able to beat Virginia.
Finals: Likely No. 2 seed North Carolina or No. 3 seed NC State
If Syracuse can make the finals Sunday, it’d be competing for its first-ever ACC Tournament title. To achieve that, it would need to look past prior matchups from this season.
The Orange would likely play No. 2 seed North Carolina, which swept SU on Feb. 20. UNC has No. 2 ranked singles player Reese Brantmeier, No. 11 Ange Oby Kajuru and No. 31 Tatum Evans, all of whom dominated Syracuse this season.
The Tar Heels also have two of the best doubles pairings in the country in No. 5 ranked pairing Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton and No. 6 ranked duo Oby Kajuru and Susanna Maltby. After winning the past two tournaments, UNC is searching for a three-peat.
SU’s other likely opponent would be No. 3 seed NC State, which also swept Syracuse this season. The Wolfpack have four players in the ITA top 100 and only dropped one set against SU this season. NC State lost just two ACC matches this year as well, falling to Miami and ending its regular season with a loss to No. 1 seed Virginia.
