Tennis : Despite higher expectations, SU suffers same fate in 2011
Photo/Mark Nash
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Emily Harman had the doubles point within her grasp. But with a 7-5 lead and needing to return the serve one final time to earn the point, Harman and freshman Maddie Kobelt could not get the ball past their opponents.
South Florida’s pairing scored on a few easy volleys and the match came crumbling down for Syracuse. SU’s No. 1 doubles pair lost the lead, dropped four consecutive games and surrendered any momentum Syracuse had hoped to gain heading into singles play.
The Orange (19-7) lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons, falling to South Florida (11-11) 1-4 in its final opportunity to break into the conference’s upper tier this season. Syracuse later defeated Rutgers and Georgetown in the consolation bracket to clinch fifth place in the tournament.
‘It’s disappointing for me,’ said the junior Harman. ‘But at the same time I have to learn from it. I’m very proud of the team, and the team did well, but I have to do better. I train to be better, and I have to look forward to how I can improve that for next time.’
It was not the ending Syracuse head coach Luke Jensen and his squad envisioned for their season. Jensen expected his team to win the Big East tournament, but SU faltered in the same round it has for the past few years.
Despite the same result, Jensen said it was the best the Orange has played in the tournament during his five-year tenure.
The Orange had lofty expectations following last season’s 20-3 record, the most wins in program history. But SU didn’t improve its record from last season, finishing with a 19-7 record.
The high expectations came with numerous obstacles throughout the season. Syracuse played a rare doubleheader, three matches in as many days, and went on a West Coast road trip to play then-No. 9 Southern California and then-No. 62 San Diego State.
Senior co-captain Christina Tan said it was the hardest schedule she had played in her four-year career. The Orange nearly upended the Trojans when the teams played on March 15. But SU’s No. 2 and 3 doubles pairs could not come through with wins after the teams played to a 3-3 tie in singles play, and SU dropped the match.
‘I don’t think success is necessarily results-based,’ Tan said. ‘We had a good record last year, but we also had a great record this year. We define success based on the cohesiveness of the team, working together to improve one another’s game.’
Tan said the team dynamic was much different from those in years past. Despite Jensen’s difficult practice environment, the players never complained and the senior leadership of Tan, Simone Kalhorn and Jacquelynn Tang created the goal of claiming a Big East title and a trip to the NCAA tournament.
The Orange was unable to fulfill either goal, though.
The vision did lead to one of Jensen’s most balanced teams. SU was led by Kobelt, who earned a team-high 35 wins as a freshman. Seniors Kalhorn and Tan each finished their careers with 110 and 101 wins, respectively. Harman captured her 100th career win against St. John’s in the first round of the Big East tournament. Five players won at least 30 matches this season.
‘I really feel that the program will continue to improve,’ Tan said. ‘We’ll get better girls each year, and every year the team seems to get deeper and deeper. Not just getting the better talent, but I feel like each year the team has gotten better chemistry-wise, getting along better and focusing in on the same goal.’
In the end, Syracuse was dealt the same result it had been trying to pass by all season long. The Orange’s goals were apparent, but after yet another disappointing Big East tournament, the bitter taste of another downfall will likely just fuel next season’s preparation.
‘I don’t want to say I’m disappointed because these girls trained so hard,’ Jensen said. ‘They played so hard for us all year. It’s just hard. It’s hard to lose. It’s hard to come up short. We’ve got to work harder. All this means is that we’re not ready yet.’