Syracuse Upsets Clemson 4-3 to Advance in ACC Tournament

By Drew Albaugh | @Drew_Albaugh

Coming off a tight 4-2 win over Boston College, most assumed that would be the end of the road for Syracuse tennis. But the Orange had different plans.

Syracuse pulled off a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 9 seed Clemson in the second round of the ACC Tournament, continuing its postseason surge in Cary, North Carolina.

The Orange started strong by securing the doubles point for the second consecutive match. After dropping Court 1, SU bounced back with dominant wins at No. 2 (6-3, Kimoto/Sysoeva) and No. 3 (6-4, Wojcik/Shastova) to take the early lead. Syracuse remains undefeated at 10-0 when claiming the opening point. When losing it, SU is 1-9.

In singles, the Orange kept the pressure on. No. 2 Nelly Knezkova defeated Sophia Hatton (6-2, 6-3), and Serafima Shastova rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 win. But from there, the Tigers clawed back.

Clemson responded with straight-set wins at No. 4 over Anastasia Sysoeva and at No. 6 against Monika Wojcik. Soon after, in a pivotal third set, senior Shiori Ito was edged out, 3-6, 6-1, 5-7. With the match tied 3-3, it came down to veteran No. 1 Miyuka Kimoto.

Kimoto opened strong with a 6-3 win over Amelie Smejkalova, but dropped a tight second set in a tiebreak, 6-7 (8-6). Trailing 5-4 and facing match point at 30-40 in the third, the senior held her nerve. Kimoto saved the point, took the next two games, and sealed the win, 7-5.

The victory marks back-to-back ACC Tournament wins for the Orange and sends them to the quarterfinals against No. 8 Georgia Tech. SU lost 4-2 to the Yellow Jackets earlier this season.

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