Luke Jensen can’t seem to forget the night when the Syracuse tennis team celebrated Maria Vasilyeva’s birthday nine months premature. As a tradition for every road trip, Jensen chooses at random one of his players whose birthday the team celebrates, regardless of whether they are genuine or fabricated.

The celebrations are a ‘festive’ surprise and a chance for the players to bond away from home and their families, sophomore Chelsea Jones said.

Last year, Vasilyeva’s fake birthday took place in the spotlights of Excalibur Hotel and Casino’s ‘Tournament of Kings’ show last year in Las Vegas, where the team went for spring training week.

But as one of just two returning players for the Orange, Vasilyeva’s contributions themselves have been worth commemorating. The most experienced player on the team with two previous seasons under her belt, Vasilyeva’s contribution is not limited to winning matches. Her intensity and calmness have been a topic of interest for the young team.

The Orange (2-0) travels to Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday at 11 a.m., where SU will play its first away match of the season against Kansas State. On Sunday, Syracuse takes on Missouri in Columbia, Mo., at noon.

Vasilyeva is an automatic win, Jensen said. Last season she had a 67 percent win average and was 9-3 in her past 12 singles matches coming in, Maria is a player who has gotten stronger physically and in play.

‘She is someone, that when you look at the lineup card, where you say, ‘Where are the tough matches? Where can we win, and where can we lose?” Jensen said. ‘You always put a ‘W’ next to Maria.’

That much has proven true so far this year. The junior Vasilyeva looks to improve her 2-0 starts at both singles and doubles matches, and said she was satisfied with her level of play thus far.

Vasilyeva is one of two players remaining from last year’s roster. The other returnee, Jones, said she could not tell where either she or Vasilyeva would play or what Jensen’s lineup would be for this season.

Vasilyeva was relieved to make the third singles position this year, despite playing at first and second last season. But Jensen’s ultimate direction for his new tennis team does not align with her future plans, she said.

‘He wants us to be professionals, but that’s not my goal, that’s not why I came here,’ Vasilyeva said. ‘My goal is to get an education.’

Jensen aims, not only to create professional athletes but also to promote American tennis, a direction he has since followed by recruiting four freshmen solely from the United States. But Jensen isn’t against foreign players competing on the collegiate level, he said, pointing out that foreign players are a beneficiary aspect to NCAA tennis.

In fact, the head coach found a perfect opportunity last year to celebrate and surprise Vasilyeva’s Russian heritage with a concocted birthday, when a knight by the name of Mother Russia presented herself at the Excalibur.

‘Luke says it’s my birthday, and they just said it out loud,’ Vasilyeva said while laughing. ‘I was kind of embarrassed. It wasn’t my birthday.’

Jensen has been known for unexpected events, like returning earlier than expected from his role as an ESPN color-analyst at the Australian Open to join Syracuse’s first game of the season.

And while Jensen hopes his team will rise to the challenge this weekend, he knows what he will get out of Vasilyeva.

‘(The team) needs to be as hungry as they can for this weekend and really prepare,’ Jensen said. ‘But from Maria, I know we basically got a point in the pocket.’

Published on January 31, 2008 at 12:00 pm