Wake Forest Athletics
Wednesday, April 15
Cary, N.C.
3:30 P.M.
Wake Forest University
4
vs
1
(13) Syracuse
Photo by: Bryce Mitchell / Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Defeats Syracuse to Advance to the Third Round of the ACC Championships
4/15/2026 7:51:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Demon Deacons will play Miami at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
CARY, N.C. – Wake Forest women's tennis advanced to the third round of the ACC Tennis Championships after defeating Syracuse, 4-1. The Deacs, who lost to the Orange in regular season play, exacted revenge after playing a much stronger singles session in Cary.
After wins in second and third doubles, Nevena Carton, Sankavi Gownder and Kady Tannenbaum won their singles matches to propel the Demon Deacons to the second-round victory. The Deacs will play Miami (13-6, 8-4 ACC) tomorrow at 3:30 with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Like the regular season match in March, Wake Forest outplayed the Orange in doubles and took the opening point of the match. Krystal Blanch and Aubrey Nisbet got the ball rolling with a 6-3 win over Syracuse's Leena Bennetto and Constance Levivier. The Deacs would earn their second doubles win minutes later. Tied at 4-4, Evie Oxford and Sankavi Gownder proceeded to win two consecutive games on court two to clinch that match and give Wake Forest the early lead.
Syracuse leveled the match at 1-1 after Blanch retired in her singles match. Gownder quickly broke that tie, winning her 16th singles match of the season. She was the only player on either team to go 2-0 today, winning her singles and doubles match. Her victory over Leena Bennetto was her 13th straight-sets win of the season.
Carton put the Deacs up 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Anastasia Sysoeva, Syracuse's No. 1 singles player. Carton, ranked 104th nationally, has played her best tennis of the season recently. She is 5-2 in her last seven completed singles matches. Tannenbaum wrapped up the match, eliminating Syracuse with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Emma Scaldalai on court six.
The Demon Deacons will look to keep their revenge tour going tomorrow against Miami. The Hurricanes defeated Wake Forest in regular season play in Winston-Salem. The winner of tomorrow's match will advance to play fourth-seeded Duke at 3:30 on Friday.
Doubles Results
Singles Results
How It Happened
From Coach Wyshner
"I'm really proud of our players today. I think stepping up and beating a team that we lost 4-3 to a couple weeks ago showed the character these seven Deacs have shown all year. It may not have been the regular season we were working toward, but these seven have never given up on the team and showed up every time we played. I Loved our doubles start today, going up 4-1 on second and third doubles. Then we did a great job starting solidly in singles and Nev, Kady and Sankavi were great shutting the door in second sets! Excited to win today; we get to play again tomorrow!"
Up Next
Wake Forest will play Miami at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. The winner will move on to the quarterfinals of the 2026 ACC Championships on Friday.
After wins in second and third doubles, Nevena Carton, Sankavi Gownder and Kady Tannenbaum won their singles matches to propel the Demon Deacons to the second-round victory. The Deacs will play Miami (13-6, 8-4 ACC) tomorrow at 3:30 with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Like the regular season match in March, Wake Forest outplayed the Orange in doubles and took the opening point of the match. Krystal Blanch and Aubrey Nisbet got the ball rolling with a 6-3 win over Syracuse's Leena Bennetto and Constance Levivier. The Deacs would earn their second doubles win minutes later. Tied at 4-4, Evie Oxford and Sankavi Gownder proceeded to win two consecutive games on court two to clinch that match and give Wake Forest the early lead.
Syracuse leveled the match at 1-1 after Blanch retired in her singles match. Gownder quickly broke that tie, winning her 16th singles match of the season. She was the only player on either team to go 2-0 today, winning her singles and doubles match. Her victory over Leena Bennetto was her 13th straight-sets win of the season.
Carton put the Deacs up 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Anastasia Sysoeva, Syracuse's No. 1 singles player. Carton, ranked 104th nationally, has played her best tennis of the season recently. She is 5-2 in her last seven completed singles matches. Tannenbaum wrapped up the match, eliminating Syracuse with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Emma Scaldalai on court six.
The Demon Deacons will look to keep their revenge tour going tomorrow against Miami. The Hurricanes defeated Wake Forest in regular season play in Winston-Salem. The winner of tomorrow's match will advance to play fourth-seeded Duke at 3:30 on Friday.
Doubles Results
- No. 66 Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) def. Nelly Knezkova/Anastasia Sysoeva (SU), 5-5 (unfinished)
- Evie Oxford/Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. Serafima Shastova/Monika Wojcik (SU), 6-4
- Krystal Blanch/Aubrey Nisbet (WFU) def. Leena Bennetto/Constance Levivier (SU), 6-3
Singles Results
- No. 104 Nevena Carton (WFU) def. Anastasia Sysoeva (SU), 6-2, 6-2
- Serafima Shastova (SU) def. Krystal Blanch (WFU), 6-2, 3-0 (retirement)
- Nelly Knezkova (SU) vs. Evie Oxford (WFU), 7-6 (7-2), 2-3 (unfinished)
- Heidi Bulger (WFU) vs. Monika Wojcik (SU), 7-5, 4-2 (unfinished)
- Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. Leena Bennetto (SU), 6-3, 6-2
- Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) def. Emma Scaldalai (SU), 7-5, 6-2
How It Happened
- In doubles, Wake Forest held leads on all three courts through six games.
- Blanch and Nisbet were the first to clinch, winning 6-3 in third doubles.
- After being tied at 4-4, Gownder and Oxford downed Shastova and Wojcik, 6-4, to earn the Deacs the opening point of the match.
- Wake Forest leads, 1-0.
- Shastova won in second singles after Blanch retired.
- Match tied, 1-1.
- Bulger fought to win a hard-fought first set to take the lead. Wake Forest won the first set in four of six matches.
- Gownder won yet another singles match in straight sets to put the Deacs back in front.
- Wake Forest leads, 2-1.
- Carton and Tannenbaum won on courts one and six, respectively, to clinch the win.
- Wake Forest wins, 4-1.
From Coach Wyshner
"I'm really proud of our players today. I think stepping up and beating a team that we lost 4-3 to a couple weeks ago showed the character these seven Deacs have shown all year. It may not have been the regular season we were working toward, but these seven have never given up on the team and showed up every time we played. I Loved our doubles start today, going up 4-1 on second and third doubles. Then we did a great job starting solidly in singles and Nev, Kady and Sankavi were great shutting the door in second sets! Excited to win today; we get to play again tomorrow!"
Up Next
Wake Forest will play Miami at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. The winner will move on to the quarterfinals of the 2026 ACC Championships on Friday.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Anastasia Sysoeva / 0 [SYR]
22
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Serafima Shastova / 0 [SYR]
63WR
200
#3 Singles Match
123
Nelly Knezkova / 0 [SYR]
730
62UF
#4 Singles Match
123
Wojcik Monika / 0 [SYR]
520
74UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Leena Bennetto / 0 [SYR]
32
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Emma Scaldalai / 0 [SYR]
52
76
Order of Finish:
2,5,1,6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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