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Syracuse head coach, Younes Limam, is accustomed to strong starts. Last year, the Orange started 6-1 in nonconference play. SU has carried its nonconference dominance into 2025, with an undefeated record through five games.

The Orange’s strong start is why the stakes were raised for their first Atlantic Coast Conference matchup of the season against Boston College. Conference play and road games have been SU’s kryptonite over the past couple of seasons. Before Syracuse’s win over Boston University Saturday, it hadn’t won a road game in nearly two calendar years.

On Sunday morning in Chestnut Hill, Syracuse (6-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) toppled Boston College (3-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) 5-2 to claim its first conference win this season and sixth consecutive victory over the Eagles. SU prevailed in the first two doubles matches to claim the doubles point for the fifth time in six matches. BC showed resistance early in singles play, but the Orange found their rhythm down the stretch, winning four of six matches.

Limam kept two of the same doubles teams from Syracuse’s match against Boston University Saturday. The lone change came in the No. 3 position, where Serafima Shastova replaced Constance Levivier. Shastova, partnered with Monika Wojcik, made quick work of Boston College’s Nadia Barteck and Muskan Mahajan, winning 6-2. It was the first match of the year in which Shastova and Wojcik played together.

The No. 2 doubles match featured a crucial matchup, as SU’s Miyuka Kimoto and Anastasia Sysoeva took on BC’s Olivia Benton and Nadia Dimovska. In a seesaw match, Kimoto and Sysoeva emerged victorious 6-4 to claim the point. Kimoto and Sysoeva have just one loss in doubles on the season, and the duo finished their Boston road trip 2-0 together.

Nelly Knezkova and Shiori Ito starred in the No. 1 doubles spot for the fourth straight match. They took on Tola Glowacka and Natalie Eordekian, but the match was rendered incomplete because SU had already grabbed the doubles point.

Limam decided to go with the same six doubles players for singles play. To start singles play, Knezkova battled Benton in a heavyweight singles matchup. Benton came out of the gate authoritatively, winning the first set 6-0.

Knezkova, coming into the matchup undefeated in singles play, uses her sheer power and aggressiveness to wear down opponents as the game progresses. But Benton, a five-star freshman ranked No. 39 nationally, prevailed to grab the first singles point for Boston College, 6-0, 6-4.

Knezkova’s doubles partner, Ito, cruised to a victory (6-2, 6-2) over Dimovska in the No. 5 spot. With the win, Ito bounced back after losing her first singles match of the season against Boston University Saturday. Ito believes the key to success in ACC play is to “stay in the present moment,” she said in the offseason.

Shastova, playing in the No. 4 slot, defeated Barteck for the second time, winning in two sets (6-4, 6-4). The Jacksonville State transfer has been a steady presence in her first season with SU. She has now won four straight singles matches since dropping her first match of the season to Cornell.

The Orange carried their momentum into the ensuing two matches, both of which went to a tiebreaker third set. Kimoto edged Glowacka in the first set 7-5, but Glowacka rebounded to take the second set 6-3. In the final set, Kimoto showed why she was ranked No. 24 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason singles rankings, winning 10-4.

Kimoto had missed the contest against Drexel on Feb. 2 due to a nagging leg injury, but all signs point to the senior being fully healthy as conference play begins.

Boston College claimed its second singles victory of the day via Mahajan’s win over Sysoeva in the No. 3 position (6-2, 1-6, 10-6), but Syracuse had already secured the win.

Boston College’s online broadcast credits Wojcik with a singles match win because of a walkover in the No. 6 spot.

With the win, Syracuse leaves Boston an impressive 2-0. The Orange are now 13-4 across doubles matches this spring after going 25-29 a year ago. SU will look to use its first conference win as a catalyst in the gauntlet ACC. Limam recognizes how significant each conference win is.

“I mean honestly all of them are going to be very competitive and very exciting. I think (the ACC) is the best conference in women’s tennis in the country,” Limam said in the offseason.

Published on February 9, 2025 at 4:48 pm