The Syracuse tennis team is riding high. After winning its last 10 matches, losing just isn’t an option for the Orange.
This weekend the Orange will face Georgetown and Seton Hall, two Big East teams. Instead of letting conference play put more pressure on the team, these opponents simply serve to get SU more excited. Especially against Georgetown, Syracuse is looking to come in with a lot of energy and annihilate the Hoyas.
‘When you play Georgetown and you’re Syracuse, it’s just not another match,’ head coach Luke Jensen said. ‘Unless you’re playing UConn, it’s the match. We’ve never lost to them. We don’t plan on losing to them. We want to win every single point, game, set. We want to absolutely bury them.’
In the past 10 years, Syracuse and Georgetown have played five times. Not only did Syracuse win every one of those matches, it didn’t drop a team point in doing so. This year the Orange is on track to do the same. It is 5-0 in the Big East. Georgetown is 1-4. All four of its losses came to teams that SU beat.
Seton Hall is struggling in the Big East as well, with a record of 0-2. Again, Syracuse beat both of the teams the Pirates lost to. Seton Hall has also not beaten the Orange in the past 10 years, although its losses haven’t been as drastic as Georgetown’s.
As far as scouting reports go, Georgetown in particular is going to do whatever it can to bring down Syracuse. Co-captain Simone Kalhorn anticipates both teams will try to psych out the confident Syracuse team.
‘We know that they’re going to bring out really big crowds to try and counter our Orange energy, so we’ll be ready for that,’ she said.
It is precisely this energy that has brought about the rivalry between Syracuse and Georgetown. Jensen demands a positive attitude from his players, regardless of how they’re playing. This has translated into a team that is constantly cheering for its teammates — whether they are simply watching or in the middle of a match six courts down, there is never a moment of silence.
‘I think (the rivalry is) just because we bring so much energy wherever we go, whether it’s a home match or an away match,’ assistant coach Shelley George said. ‘Other teams tend to pick that up, and they look at that as a challenge sometimes, so that’s probably where it all started.’
Although this rivalry is based off personal battles instead of close matches, it is still important for Syracuse to establish itself as the Big East powerhouse it is shaping up to be.
With the Big East championship just three weeks away, these matches give the Orange a chance to test out possible opponents. It is also an opportunity to show these teams exactly how good Syracuse tennis is.
Facing a team before the tournament lets the coaches compile in-depth scouting reports as well. No SU player will be surprised by an opponent that the team has already faced. Even if the individuals have not already met in a match, someone on the team has faced them.
Sophomore Emily Harman expects a good fight from the weekend’s adversaries. She doesn’t expect them to just roll over and die. But she also knows that as long as the team plays the way it has been for the past few weeks, there is nothing to worry about.
‘Georgetown and Seton Hall are good teams,’ Harman said. ‘We’re better. As long as we go in with the mindset that we did (against Army Wednesday), we’re not going to lose.’
alguggen@syr.edu