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Following Syracuse’s 4-0 loss to North Carolina Friday, head coach Younes Limam said the Tar Heels made life “uncomfortable” for the Orange.

In the past, Limam has preached the importance of SU playing at its own pace. He then said the Orange must have a “short memory and get ready for Sunday” ahead of facing Duke.

While Sunday’s performance was an improvement, Syracuse (7-2, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) fell to No. 10 Duke (8-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) 4-1 for its second straight loss of the season. The Orange went 7-0 in nonconference play to begin the season but remain winless in ACC play. SU excelled in spurts, but the Blue Devils’s talent and cohesion prevailed.

“We battled, I think we had moments to change the momentum of the match,” Limam said.

Facing its second-ranked opponent in a row, a victory would’ve catapulted SU up the Intercollegiate Tennis Rankings. Duke is one of three ACC teams ranked in the top 10 and it has added a litany of highly touted freshmen since last year’s defeat in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse’s improved doubles play was a driving factor in its undefeated start, and against an opponent as talented as Duke, claiming the doubles point was crucial.

It appeared that Limam found the right match of doubles pairings following Syracuse’s win against Boston College, but he once again changed the pairings following the defeat to UNC.

Nelly Knezkova, who is 4-1 with Shiori Ito on the season, played with Miyuka Kimoto in the No. 1 doubles position against Irina Balus and Ellie Coleman. Balus and Coleman are the No. 8-ranked tandem in the ITA doubles ranking.

Duke’s duo jumped out to a 3-2 lead due to a couple of Knezkova and Kimoto backhands sailing past the end line. But SU’s pair rallied from the deficit, winning the final four games to take the match 6-3. Kimoto finished it off with a perfectly placed slice that landed just past Balus’ outstretched arms.

One of Duke’s aforementioned talented freshmen, Liv Hovde, starred with senior Emma Jackson against Anastasia Sysoeva and Ito. Tied at 3-3, Jackson and Hovde established their power with a series of impressive forehands and spikes to win the following three games and claim the match 6-3.

The Blue Devils’ Shavit Kimchi and Eleana Yu had a similar result in the clinching doubles match, winning four of the final five games to defeat Monika Wojcik and Serafima Shastova 6-3.

“I don’t think there is a problem,” Limam said when asked about the team’s doubles play. “I think we’re playing doubles at a very high level. I think it’s just the results, unfortunately, it doesn’t show it yet, but I’m very pleased on how we played with a lot of intensity.”

The Orange faced an uphill battle heading into singles play, but it was nearly a carbon copy of the doubles action. Syracuse battled, but Duke was one step ahead.

Coleman avenged her doubles defeat with a dominant showing against Ito. Trailing 5-2 in the first set, Ito hit back-to-back lobs past the end line to gift Coleman the point. Coleman fittingly won the second set 6-1, as Ito’s forehand sailed past the end line again.

Wojcik, who rallied from down 4-0 in the second set to win against Columbia, couldn’t conjure up the same comeback against Ava Krug, the No. 7 ranked freshman in the 2024 class. Krug is now 5-0 in the No. 6 singles slot on the season.

The No. 1 doubles match gave SU a glimmer of hope, as Kimoto carried her doubles momentum into singles. Her experience combined with her signature forehand overwhelmed the freshman Balus. But Jackson, battling against Sysoeva, ended any hope of an SU comeback with a flurry of clinical backhand shots to close out Sysoeva 6-4 in both sets.

Knezkova and Shastova were locked into tight singles matches that could’ve gone Syracuse’s way if Duke hadn’t already clinched victory.

Following Duke’s loss to Ohio State on Feb. 14, head coach Jamie Ashworth challenged it to be more “emotionally invested.” Ashworth’s group did that Sunday, understanding a pesky SU side was motivated to grab its first conference win of the season. But, Syracuse left the match still searching for its first ranked win since it defeated then-No.8 NC State last March.

“I really like how much growing we’re doing as a team, and how much learning we’re doing as a team from matches like that because matches like that will help us down the road for sure,” Limam said.

Published on February 23, 2025 at 6:20 pm