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Nelly Knezkova, with a smile beaming across her face, singled to the Syracuse fans and raised her fist in the air after winning the final point of the first set in her singles match. Knezkova and Fordham’s Julianne Nguyen rallied back and forth, but Knezkova delivered a piercing forehand that whizzed past Nguyen. The point was a microcosm of Knezkova’s performance Sunday.

Knezkova began her collegiate career at Hawaii, winning 11 singles matches in her freshman year, including a victory against No. 10 California at the No. 1 position. Knezkova’s 2023 campaign earned her All-Big West Second-Team honors in singles.

She quickly established herself as one of Syracuse’s key players after transferring from Hawaii at the end of her freshman year. Knezkova went 9-2 in singles and 11-3 in doubles across her first fall season with the Orange.

With only half of last year’s squad returning, SU head coach Younes Limam was tasked with finding the right doubles combinations and singles placement. In Knezkova, Limam has a consistent force; she’s gone 3-1 across singles and doubles matches throughout the first two games. Her singles and doubles victory propelled Syracuse (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) to a 7-0, shutout victory over Fordham (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10).

“She’s been working extremely hard during the fall, and I think a big part of it is confidence,” Limam said postgame. “I think she is in a good place right now and I just love her energy and how feisty she is on the court.”

Against James Madison Saturday, Knezkova and Monika Wojcik played in the No. 2 doubles spot and were swept 6-0 by the Dukes’ Elena Kraleva and Corinna Rietmann. Sunday’s doubles match was a different story.

Limam paired Knezkova and Shiori Ito in the No. 1 doubles spot, a duo Limam believes “complements each other” because of Knezkova’s aggressiveness and Ito’s poise.

Limam was proved right on Sunday, as they beat Fordham’s Julianne Nguyen and Aya Matsunaga 6-3.

In the first set, Knezkova established her presence right away. Ito served to Nguyen, who returned it forcefully. But Knezkova, in prime positioning, redirected it out of Matsunaga’s reach for the game’s first point.

Knezkova’s power was palpable throughout the early stages of the match. In game two, with Syracuse up 1-0, Knezkova delivered a powerful forehand to go up 30-0. A couple of points later, Knezkova’s serve resulted in Fordham returning it past the end line, and SU went up 2-0.

Knezkova and Ito faced some resistance from Nguyen and Matsunaga in the subsequent games, but it was not enough to deter the SU tandem. Syracuse swept the doubles portion for the second time in three games.

Knezkova played her singles match in the No. 1 spot against Nguyen — the second time the two battled on Sunday in the No. 1 spot. And like the doubles match, Knezkova was victorious, winning 6-2, 6-2.

Knezkova once again won the game’s first point, reaching low to her left to put it out of Nguyen’s grasp. However, Nguyen responded to take the first set. With Knezkova facing her first bit of adversity down 1-0, she bounced the ball a couple of times, locked in on her target and rocketed a serve past Nguyen. Knezkova scored on the following two serves, too, displaying her power and precision.

The No. 1 singles match on court three quickly became the day’s main attraction, and Knezkova’s serving ability became the story. The Prague, Czech Republic, native used the serve to get Nguyen out of position on multiple occasions and she slammed a forehand to Nguyen’s right to take the first set 6-2.

In the second set, it was more of the same for Knezkova — she continued to wear down Nguyen with sheer power. In the seventh game, with Knezkova two games away from victory, she delivered an explosive serve that Nguyen failed to reach. Knezkova won the second set 6-2.

Knezkova’s energy and upbeat nature was tangible in Syracuse’s 7-0 victory over Fordham.

“I think it’s the mindset. I just tried to keep my energy high,” Knezkova said. “It’s really important to have a short memory.”

Published on January 26, 2025 at 5:06 pm