'Cuse Heads East for Clash With Boston College

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse University women's tennis (4-5, 0-2) closes out a three-match road trip this weekend, traveling to Massachusetts to face Boston College. Saturday's match will take place at the Weymouth Club with the first doubles serve slated for 5 p.m.

The Orange opened ACC play last weekend, falling to No. 3 North Carolina and No. 20 Duke.

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 against Boston University, winning 6-4. 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 5-3 record in singles action and a 5-1 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 3-1 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 Boston College
Boston College enters the contest with a 6-4 overall record. The Eagles are 0-2 in conference play so far, dropping matches at No. 20 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina. Boston College is 4-1 this spring when playing at the Weymouth Club. The Eagles posted a 5-18 record in duals last spring.

Sophomore Olivia Benton highlights the returners for Boston College. She went 22-11 in singles play a season ago, including winning 12 straight matches to open her collegiate career. Benton is 5-2 in singles play this spring, featuring exclusively at the No. 1 position. The No. 1 doubles pairing of Natalie Eordekian and Seren Agar is 3-3 in duals play.

Boston College owns a slight 23-18 lead in the all-time series. Saturday's contest marks the 42nd all-time meeting between the two programs.

For all the latest news on the Syracuse tennis program, follow /CuseTennis on Facebook, @CuseTennis on Instagram and @Cuse_Tennis on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

Leena Bennetto

Nelly Knezkova

Constance Levivier

Emma Scaldalai

Serafima Shastova

Anastasia Sysoeva

Monika Wojcik

Syracuse University Athletics