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The Atlantic Coast Conference has not been kind to Syracuse. Losses to then-No. 3 North Carolina and then-No. 10 Duke halted the Orange’s perfect 7-0 start. Friday, a 1-4 Miami squad was supposed to offer SU a chance to return to winning ways. That didn’t happen.

The Hurricanes, led by NCAA Singles Champion and ACC Player of the Year Alexa Noel, picked up a 4-3 victory, fending off Syracuse’s late comeback attempt. Sunday, SU looked to bounce back against Florida State, which was coming off eight straight wins.

SU (8-3, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) did, notching its first ACC win by defeating the Seminoles (10-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) 4-3. The Orange won the doubles point for the first time in the ACC this season and won three of the six singles matches, including a Nelly Knezkova walk-off, to snap a three-game losing streak.

“The biggest thing we talked about is controlling what we can control and coming back with a sense of urgency,” SU head coach Younes Limam said. “I know Friday everybody thought that we gave a lot, but I thought we had a little bit more in us, and we needed to show that today.”

On Friday, Anastasia Sysoeva and Shiori Ito needed to win both matches to close out a victory. In a similar position against FSU, it was Ito and Knezkova. However, since SU led 3-2, it only needed one to pull through this time.

When Ito lost, the attention turned to Knezkova. As the weight of the match rested on her shoulders, Knezkova tied the No. 2 singles match 3-3 in the third set.

After trailing 40-15, Knezkova hooked it back to deuce. The following play, her backhand gave her a 4-3 lead.

A commanding ace got the Hawaii transfer rolling in the eighth game. Suddenly, Knezkova was in the driver’s seat at 40-love. But Millie Bissett wouldn’t go away. Her serve return was on the money and Knezkova’s backhand wasn’t.

As a hush surrounded Drumlins Country Club, Knezkova delivered. Her backhand put her within one game of SU’s first ACC win.

Knezkova opened a 30-point cushion in the all-decisive ninth game with her backhand, and Bissett couldn’t match it as her forehand was short. Her spike at the front of the net kept Florida State in it, but a Knezkova backhand gave Limam’s squad its elusive ACC win.

“I was the last one on the court, but it felt like everyone was there with me,” Knezkova said. “I’m really proud of everyone because we worked so hard to get where we are now, so it’s great to win.”

Entering the contest, Syracuse dropped the doubles point in all of its ACC matches. Sunday, that wasn’t the case.

The only team that garnered a win against Miami in the doubles was left unchanged as Monika Wojcik and Serafima Shastova continued similarly, outlasting FSU’s Tina Li and Maelie Monfils in the No. 3 doubles, 6-4.

Limam did tinker with his No. 2 doubles. Constance Levivier, who hasn’t played since SU’s win against Boston University, teamed with Sysoeva to replace Ito.

Sysoeva’s perfectly placed backhand gave SU the lead back at 3-2, which it later extended to two after winning the sixth game. Yet, FSU hung around.

Bissett’s one-handed jumping backhand kept FSU alive in the seventh game as it clawed back to deuce. At deuce, Bissett’s forehand brought it back to 4-3 but Sysoseva and Levivier held on to win the next two games. This won SU the doubles point.

Against Miami, Miyuka Kimoto was outmatched from the jump in singles. Noel swept the first set and won seven straight in the second to win it, 7-5. Sunday was more of the same.

The senior took the first game at deuce but lost the next four. A running forehand by Kimoto in the sixth game cut Eva Shaw’s lead down to two. But Kimoto’s run didn’t last long, as SU’s No. 1 single dropped her third consecutive set, 6-3.

The second set was a similar story. Up 2-1, Kimoto moved Shaw all around the court but squandered an easy point opportunity at the net, which led to Shaw taking a 4-2 lead. Though Kimoto fought back, Shaw gave FSU its first team point.

With the team score 1-1, Sysoeva’s loss to Mary Boyce Deatherage put the Seminoles up 2-1. Shastova’s win over Maria Parra Romero tied proceedings before Wojcik’s victory over Monfils in the No. 6 singles gave SU a 3-2 lead.

Ito’s loss in the No. 5 singles set up a grandstand finish for the second match in a row. This time, Syracuse pulled off a dramatic late victory, as Knezkova won the match.

“We can tell them all we want. They’re good enough. They can compete against the best teams in the nation,” Limam said. “But we needed that. We needed a good win and today was a great win.”

Published on March 2, 2025 at 5:29 pm

Contact Quinn: qdpostma@syr.edu