Orange Open ACC Slate With North Carolina and Duke

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse University women's tennis (4-3) begins ACC play this weekend, traveling to North Carolina to take on UNC and Duke. The Orange open the weekend against the Tar Heels on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Chewning Tennis Center before squaring off with the Blue Devils on Sunday at noon at the Ambler Tennis Stadium.

Syracuse enters the slate having won its last two matches. The Orange knocked off Boston University 5-2 before defeating in-state foe Buffalo 6-1.

Decorated Duo
The Syracuse tandem of junior Nelly Knezkova and senior Anastasia Sysoeva were named the ACC Doubles Team of the Week on Jan. 20 following strong performances against Cornell and Fordham. The duo teamed up for a pair of victories at the No. 1 doubles position, opening their dual match season with a commanding 6-1 victory over Cornell's Martina Marica and Victoria Zhao.

The Orange pair then faced Fordham's Nevena Kolarevic and Julianne Nguyen, a doubles team that competed in the 2025 NCAA Championships just a couple of months ago. Knezkova and Sysoeva emerged triumphant, prevailing 6-3 in the match. The duo picked up their third win of the spring last weekend, winning 6-4, against Boston University. The pairing was ranked No. 20 in the Feb. 19 ITA Women's Division I Doubles Poll.

Opening Action
Knezkova leads the squad in overall wins this spring with 10. She owns a 5-2 record in singles action and a flawless 5-0 record in doubles. Sophomore Monika Wojcik is tied for the team lead with five singles victories. Sysoeva has picked up three singles wins at the No. 2 position in addition to a 3-0 record at No. 1 doubles. Serafima Shastova registered wins against Cornell, Fordham and Buffalo at the No. 1 singles spot.

Newcomers Leena Bennetto and Emma Scaldalai notched critical wins in the clash with Boston University. Bennetto won 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5 singles to give the Orange a 3-2 lead in the match. Scaldalai was the last to finish, winning 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) to earn the fifth and final point of the match.

Constance Levivier logged her first singles victory of the spring against Buffalo, winning 7-6 (7-3), 6-0.

Fall Success
Syracuse stayed active during the fall season, competing in several events. The doubles tandem of Knezkova and Sysoeva reached the championship round of the ITA New England Regional Championships, defeating a pair of ACC opponents from Boston College in the semifinals before falling to Yale in the finals. The duo also represented Syracuse at the ITA East Sectional Championship, placing fourth in the doubles draw.

Scouting North Carolina
No. 3 North Carolina enters the match with a 10-1 record including four wins over top-10 ranked opponents. The Tar Heels posted a 27-5 record in duals last spring en route to its second straight ACC Championship, dropping just one point across three matches in the tournament. The Tar Heels reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship before falling to eventual champions Georgia.

Senior Reese Brantmeier, the No. 1 ranked singles player in the country, leads the returners for North Carolina. Brantmeier is 8-0 in singles action this spring. Graduate transfer Oby Kajuru is ranked No. 7 in singles and owns a 6-2 singles record. The Tar Heels have the No. 5 and No. 6 ranked doubles pairings in Kajuru and Susanna Maltby and Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton.

North Carolina owns a 15-0 advantage in the all-time series.

Scouting Duke
No. 19 Duke enters the match with a 6-2 record. They dropped their previous match to No. 18 Texas 3-4. The Blue Devils logged a 24-4 record in duals last spring. Duke owned a perfect 12-0 record in conference play during the regular season. The Blue Devils reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship before falling to eventual champions Georgia.

Sophomore Irina Balus, the No. 22 ranked singles player in the country, highlights the returners for Duke. She was a NCAA Singles All-American as a freshman and is 5-1 in spring duals singles. The No. 1 doubles pairing of Shavit Kimchi and Liv Hovde is ranked No. 12 in the nation. The duo were named the ACC Doubles Team of the Week on Feb. 10. Kimchi is 3-1 in duals singles so far this spring.

Duke owns a 15-0 advantage in the all-time series.

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Orange Open ACC Slate With North Carolina and Duke

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Players Mentioned

Leena Bennetto

Nelly Knezkova

Constance Levivier

Emma Scaldalai

Serafima Shastova

Anastasia Sysoeva

Monika Wojcik

Syracuse University Athletics