Christine Ordway called ‘out.’ But Ordway, the No. 1 singles player on the Cornell tennis team, quickly got a disagreement from Syracuse’s Emily Harman.

The junior co-captain Harman had just double-faulted for the second consecutive point, and appealed to the line judge. Tied 5-5 in the first set, the judge confirmed Ordway’s controversial call.

‘It was a very close moment,’ Harman said. ‘… She was standing on the court and wasn’t watching my court. I just wanted her to keep an eye on my court while she was standing there.’

But after that point, Harman seemed to play with an even fiercer competitive edge. Despite the two double faults, she won that game and never looked back. She put aside those double faults to close out the set 7-5 — with consecutive service aces. All this after trailing 4-1 earlier in the match.

In Syracuse’s 5-2 victory over Cornell on Thursday, Harman stepped up from the No. 1 singles position to get her team back on the right track after it lost the doubles point. Harman took the second set 6-4 to close her individual win. The match was her second at the top position this year, and improves her singles record to 9-2.

SU coach Luke Jensen said her ability to maintain mental strength while behind showed more grit impressive than the victory itself.

‘It’s not when you’re winning, it’s when you’re down that matters,’ Jensen said of Harman’s toughness. ‘Down 4-1, you’re out of that set most of the time.’

The victory was Harman’s second on the evening. Teaming with freshman Maddie Kobelt, the pair knocked off Kelly Comolli and Shannon Comolli 8-5 in the No. 1 doubles match. The tandem has become a fixture at the top position in SU’s lineup. With the win, Harman and Kobelt improved to 8-3 in doubles play.

They’ve grown to be comfortable playing together and complement each other.

‘We’ve built that trust in each other,’ Kobelt said. ‘We know that we can both depend on each other to hold up our end of the deal with making our returns, making our first serves, and getting up to close for the volley.’

While Kobelt brings a lethal serve to the court, Harman provides experience and a very well-rounded game.

Jensen has witnessed Harman grow into an intense competitor. He said that she came into the program with a lot of confidence and has transferred that into the rock-solid performer she is now, with the ability to take her game to the next level in clutch situations.

‘Competitors compete,’ Jensen said. ‘And for this level sometimes it calls for an extra drive where you’ve got to dig in somewhere deep inside and find it. ‘

There were no line disputes in the doubles match. Kobelt and Harman took care of business for the third straight match. However, these disagreements occur on a regular basis, Jensen said.

Jensen trains his squad to not let these calls get under their skin. He said that he trains his squad to compete at a professional level. Rather than arguing with officials, the players are told to accept whatever decision is made by officials.

‘We train them, coach them to the umpire, appeal it, and that’s final,’ Jensen said.

Kobelt, and the rest of the team know that these line calls are just a part of the game. The key to coming out on top of these decisions is to not let them become bothersome during the match. Something that Harman and the Orange did en route to victory.

‘Sometimes the line doesn’t go in your favor,’ Kobelt said. ‘We’ve all faced it. It’s just another adversity we have to all go through, but we’re prepared for that.’

sebail01@syr.edu

Published on March 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1