Syracuse struggles following top-10 win, falls 5-2 to Wake Forest
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After a monumental win against No. 8 North Carolina State Saturday — Syracuse’s first time defeating a top-10 team since 2019 — SU tennis took a step back against Wake Forest. The Orange won only three matches against the Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in their fifth loss of the year.
Syracuse (9-5, 3-4 ACC) fell to Wake Forest (12-6, 4-1 ACC) 5-2 Sunday. The Demon Deacons’s strong play stifled a bright singles performance by SU’s Miyuka Kimoto, who defeated the Wake Forest’s Cassie Wooten — the No. 28 ranked player in the country.
In doubles, Wake Forest started out hot, quickly securing the doubles point and putting SU on the back foot. The quick start translated over into singles, except for Wooten’s match against Kimoto.
Kimoto was put in the No. 1 role against Wooten. In both sets, Kimoto proved her ability by winning comfortably. The first set saw the junior win 6-2. In the second set, Wooten looked to mount a comeback, but Kimoto maintained her composure and clinched one of the three SU victories of the day with a 6-3 second set win.
The only other Syracuse player to win a singles set was Emilie Elde. The sophomore found herself in the No. 2 role against WF’s Brooke Killingsworth. Elde took the first set against Killingsworth 6-4. Yet after the initial loss, the match was all Killingsworth. Consecutive 6-1 and 6-2 set victories for the senior gave Wake Forest its fourth and final point.
Killingsworth’s win prematurely ended the contest between Viktoriya Kanapatskaya and Wake Forest’s Marcella Cruz. Initially losing the first set 6-4, Kanapatskaya stormed back in the second set to win 6-3. Before a final frame could be played, the Demon Deacons had already clinched the victory.
Anastasia Sysoeva and Polina Kozyreva both lost in straight sets with Sysoeva losing to Nevena Carton 6-4, 6-4 and Kozyreva losing to Sankavi Gownder 6-3, 6-4. The two never looked in control of their matches, allowing Wake Forest to tack on two crucial points.
Shiori Ito’s contest against Whitley Pate was a turning point in the singles matches. The junior took a lead against Pate in the first set but soon found herself tied at 6-6. Ito couldn’t win the tiebreaker, though, which gave Pate the first set. The second set ended early after Killingsworth’s match-sealing win, with Pate leading 5-3 at the time.
