Maria Vasilyeva had been the one constant in an inconsistent season for the Syracuse tennis team.

So when the SU junior, who plays at the No. 3 singles position, lost her first Big East singles match all year, it would have seemed a bad omen for the Orange.

Add in that the squad’s No. 1 singles player, Christina Tan, also lost her match, and it might seem surprising Syracuse won its third straight game, defeating St. John’s, 4-3, Sunday at the Drumlins Country Club.

Wins from SU’s lower singles seeds, such as Ashley Spicer and Chelsea Jones, helped SU pull out a vital victory.

Tan and Vasilyeva both lost their singles matches at the No. 1 and No. 3 spot, respectively. Both matches went into the third tie-breaker set before women faltered during the tie-breaker.

Vasilyeva had been 14-4 in singles play before losing to St. John’s Ira Alexsova, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8. Tan lost to St. John’s Mata Zivcicova, 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (7-6).

Tan and Vasilyeva won their doubles match earlier in the day, 8-3, at the No. 3 position, but that didn’t translate to singles wins. After the match was over, Vasilyeva wrapped her back and arm in ice. Vasilyeva’s back has been bothering her the past two weeks, but until Sunday, it hadn’t affected her play.

Tan is 9-10 in singles play and 7-12 in doubles play this season. That mediocre record is at least in part a byproduct of the tough competition the freshman has faced.

‘I wasn’t executing shots in the first set,’ Tan said. ‘I lost it pretty quickly, so in my head I knew I could beat her, so that’s how I was trying to battle back but it’s not easy.’

Vasilyeva’s match was equally frustrating. The SU junior and Alexsova had a disagreement about the score of a game during the third set. Vasilyeva thought the set was tied, while Alexsova said she was winning. The referee decided to reset the game to a 15-15 tie and made the players resume play.

Not even that bit of luck helped Vasilyeva change the fate of her match.

Vasilyeva is 14-5 in singles play, and 11-8 in doubles play. Her singles record is still the best of the team. Spicer is second at 12-8.

Syracuse might not have won except for convincing victories by Spicer and Jones at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively.

Despite Tan’s record, Jensen has kept her at No. 1 spot due to her performances in practice. When the Orange returned from Winter Break, Jensen made everyone on the team play each other in singles matches to determine the team’s seeding. Tan recorded the best record and thus holds the top seed.

However, players can challenge the person in front of them in the lineup during practice. The players compete in a full singles match against each other, and the winner plays at the high seed.

Simone Kalhorn, who currently plays at the No. 2 position, has challenged Tan multiple times, but has yet to beat her. Vasilyeva has challenged Kalhorn as well, but hasn’t experienced success trying to move up a position.

‘Tan has so many great qualities like sticking with her fitness regiment and keep getting back up,’ Jensen said. ‘Some of those qualities have not come out yet, hopefully by the Big East tournament they will be out there are ready to play.’

Vasilyeva has a week to recover before SU’s next match, when it hosts Rutgers next Saturday at 10 a.m. Chances are the Orange will need better results from Vasilyeva and Tan in order to get a victory.

‘It’s a massive responsibility to be playing at that top spot every single match,’ Jensen said. ‘When you look at that position you have to have heart. Christina is the captain; she’s earned this top position. With that captainship you have to take ups and downs, you have to be able to get up and play your hardest match to match.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on March 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm