Syracuse has had its share of tough weekends this season. The Orange played a doubleheader early in the year. The next weekend, SU hosted three matches in three days. Most recently, SU head coach Luke Jensen’s squad played six matches in 12 days.

The Orange will face a different challenge Friday, though. Rather than competing against some of the nation’s best, SU will have to focus on a lesser opponent. But it’s an opponent the Orange can’t afford to look past in Big East foe Pittsburgh.

‘They’re down this year,’ Jensen said. ‘But they’re up for Syracuse, just like we’re up for Pitt.’

With the Big East tournament just three weeks away, the Orange (14-6, 6-1) faces a struggling Panthers (8-9, 2-5) team near the bottom of the conference Friday in Pittsburgh. It would be easy to see this as a time to rest, a time to breathe easy. Jensen is pushing his team as hard as ever in practice, treating it like any other match as Syracuse tries to avoid an upset.

Junior captain Emily Harman knows winning this match is another step toward SU’s ultimate goal of winning the Big East tournament, and that looking past it would be a mistake.

‘For any match, it’s important not to look ahead of it,’ Harman said. ‘At this level, there’s not a huge separation between anybody. If we look ahead of Pitt, they could very well win. They could surprise us. We could be flat.

‘There are a lot of things that could go wrong if we just forget about them. We can’t do that. And our coaches make sure that we don’t do that.’

The Orange recognizes the proverbial target on its back. Weaker teams, such as Rutgers and Binghamton, have given SU tough matches already this season. When the Bearcats stepped into Drumlins Tennis Center on Feb. 4, they pushed Jensen’s squad to the brink.

Syracuse managed to escape with a victory over Binghamton after Harman and junior Alessondra Parra came back to win their three-set matches. The Orange wasn’t so lucky against Rutgers, losing 3-4.

SU enters each match with equal preparation and intensity, regardless of opponent, Harman said.

‘We go out in every match acting like it’s against one of the higher-ranked teams,’ Harman said. ‘That’s why we have the leading record in the Big East. We have to continue those winning ways by doing that and by enforcing our attitude the same way each and every time.’

Harman said she knows this weekend holds a challenge her team has not yet faced. SU must keep its eyes on its opponent, rather than the calendar.

Though the Orange is focused on its lone match this weekend and using its extra free time on the practice courts, not having to prepare for multiple opponents is a nice break, freshman Maddie Kobelt said.

‘I really don’t think that playing three matches in a row takes anything out of us,’ Kobelt said. ‘But the mental aspect of just having the one match to focus on — this one doubles match and this one singles match — overall is easier.’

A strong performance Friday would give the Orange more than just another tally in the win column. It would give Syracuse something it needs to win the Big East tournament.

SU will have to defeat four straight opponents to win its conference title. Looking at the second game before beating its opening-round opponent could send the Orange back early from South Bend, Ind., the site of the conference tournament.

‘For us to be able to just look ahead at the one and only match in front of us is extremely important,’ Harman said, ‘for the performance both in that match as well as the performance in future matches.’

sebail01@syr.edu

 

Published on April 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1