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The match was balanced when Anastasia Sysoeva, who was 0-5 in the No. 3 singles coming into Friday, left her shot short. Miami, which once led 3-1 in the match, was knotted with Syracuse 3-3 with two singles matches still ongoing.

In the following exchange, Sysoeva’s backhand didn’t cross over the net. After initially trailing 4-1 against Raquel Gonzalez in the third set, Sysoeva’s 40-love lead in the match-deciding 12th game of the third set shrunk to 40-30. At the same time, Xinyi Nong took a 15-love lead over Shiori Ito in the No. 5 singles.

Suddenly, SU’s hopes of its first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season were dim.

“I was down 4-1 and saw (Shiori Ito) fighting next to me. I was like, I just cannot let this one go,” Sysoeva said.

As Nong couldn’t return Ito’s hit in bounds, Gonzalez’s shot landed out, clinching Sysoeva’s first win at the No. 3 singles this season and setting up a grandstand finish in the No. 5 singles. However, despite being up 6-5, Ito dropped the next three games, with Nong’s forehand ending Syracuse’s (7-3, 0-3 Atlantic Coast) comeback hopes against Miami (2-4, 1-0 Atlantic Coast). The defeat was the Orange’s third straight.

In losses to then-No. 3 North Carolina and then-No. 10 Duke, SU scored only one point and lost the doubles point. Against Miami, it was more of the same after Serafima Shastova and Monika Wojcik won the first doubles match.

Maria Paula Vargas and Alexa Noel, who made her first appearance for the Hurricanes since winning the NCAA Individual Championship in May 2024, jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the No. 2 doubles match, only giving up two points.

Ito and Sysoeva won two of the following three games, but Paula Vargas and Noel remained in control. The pair won the seventh game at deuce to take a 5-2 lead. SU took the eighth game, but Noel’s shot at deuce leveled Miami and Syracuse at one doubles win apiece.

No. 1 doubles pair Nelly Knezkova and Miyuka Kimoto, who beat No. 11 Irina Balus and Ellie Coleman and won ACC Doubles Team of the Week, won three of the first four games. But Nong and Gonzalez wouldn’t go away.

Three misplaced shots by Knezkova narrowed SU’s lead to 3-2. The lead dissipated after Gonzalez made Kimoto and Knezkova run all around the court before delivering a slice past the Hawaii transfer to tie it at four.

Gonazlez’s short backhand kept Syracuse alive, but not for long. Nong raced to the front of the net after anticipating Knezkova’s return and delivered a backhand to level it at five. Two serving faults from Kimoto put the 11th game at deuce. Her undercooked backhand gave Miami a 6-5 lead.

Back-to-back returns out of bounds from Knezkova and a pair of Nong aces gave the Hurricanes the doubles point. Immediately after, SU head coach Younes Limam gathered his team.

“It’s only 14% of the entire gameday, and now we have the chance to go and bring our A game,” Sysoeva recalled Limam saying to his team after losing the doubles point.

Wojcik won her second match of the day against Daria Volosova, 6-1, 6-2, but when with her doubles partner, lost to Aely Arai and Jaquelyn Ogunwale, 6-3. Noel dominated Kimoto in a 6-0 first-set win, but the reigning ACC Player of the Week took a dominant lead in the second set.

Trailing 5-0, an ace by Noel cut Kimoto’s lead to four. An overcooked forehand made it three. Noel’s shallow drop put her within two. Four straight points reduced Kimoto’s advantage to one. All of a sudden, the reigning ACC Player of the Year tied it at five after Kimoto miscalculated a volley that slammed into the net. Ill-timed errors by Kimoto in the 11th and 12th game sealed Noel’s come-from-behind victory and gave Miami a 3-1 lead.

Knezkova slotted in Limam’s No. 2 singles choice for the fourth time in a row. However, last weekend, the sophomore didn’t complete a game after taking leads on UNC’s No. 13 Theadora Rabman and Duke’s Liv Hovde because the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils had already wrapped up their wins by then. Friday, it came down to the wire.

Ogunwale, who was featured in the No. 2 singles in the Hurricanes’ first win against Kennesaw State on Feb. 12, took three of the first four matches against Knezkova before winning the sixth game. This gave the freshman a 4-2 lead.

In the seventh game, Ogunwale held a 40-15 lead over the Czech. But from then on, Knezkova took over. The English native could only loop Knezkova’s delicate touch out of bounds. At deuce, Ogunwale lined up a strong forehand but couldn’t get enough loft on the hit as it sailed into the net. After that, Knezkova won four straight to win the first set, 6-4.

Knezkova’s momentum continued into the second set, garnering a 5-1 lead after dropping the first game. Ogunwale took the next two games before Knezkova wrapped it up after Ogunwale slammed the ball into the net.

Knezkova’s win set the stage for Ito and Sysoeva to win the match for SU. After dropping the first set to Nong, Ito won the second set to keep the match alive, while Gonzalez won the second set against Sysoeva.

Sysoeva did her part to tie it at three, leaving Ito the opportunity to walk it off for the Orange. At 15-15, Ito dove for the ball but couldn’t guide it onto the court. At 30-15, she couldn’t touch it over the net from a couple of feet out. Her forehand that soared into the net tied the match at six games.

Nong and Ito went back and forth, knotted at 30. But back-to-back hits out of bounds gave Nong a 7-6 lead. Her forehand in the 14th game left the Orange with their third straight loss in the ACC.

Published on February 28, 2025 at 10:50 pm

Contact Quinn: qdpostma@syr.edu