Last season against Pittsburgh, Chelsea Jones and Syracuse fell just short of victory. Jones had a match point in the final match, but couldn’t close out the win, and went on to lose. Syracuse went on to lose, 4-3.

But that was last year.

‘I know I’ve gotten better and I know I can handle pressure situations better,’ Jones said. ‘Even if that does come up where my match is on the line, I know I can handle it better than I did last year.’

This weekend, Syracuse will travel to Villanova, a team it swept 7-0 at home last season, and Pittsburgh, who beat the Orange in a tightly contested 4-3 match. That contest was SU’s only home loss of the 2007-08 season.

But revenge will have to wait, at least until the match with the Wildcats is over. Syracuse head coach Luke Jensen said the first step in conquering the two conference foes this weekend is to focus on Saturday’s match against Villanova first and foremost.

‘Pittsburgh’s the second match, and it’s so easy, you hear it all the time from coaches, to look ahead at a revenge match, a payback match,’ Jensen said. ‘But ‘Nova is Big East. Nova has changed. It’s not the same personnel.’

But that might be easier said than done for some of the players, who have strong feelings about playing Pittsburgh.

‘We just don’t like them,’ junior Ashley Spicer said of the Panthers. ‘We want to kick their butt. They came into our house last year and beat us 4-3 and it was a heartbreaker of a match. Now we really want to go into their house and rock their world.’

This season, like last season, the Orange (10-5, 4-2 Big East) has been stellar at home, compiling a 7-1 record inside the confines of Drumlins Tennis Center. On the road, however, Syracuse has struggled, mustering only a 3-4 record. Starting this weekend, SU’s final five matches of the season are all on the road against conference opponents.

Now in the heart of conference play, Syracuse is coming off a strong 6-1 thrashing of rival Connecticut and a dominating 7-0 sweep of Providence. Two road wins against upcoming Big East opponents would propel the Orange toward the finish line of the season with a good deal of momentum.

Jensen said that the team has matured throughout the season through the challenges it has faced, from losses to traveling on the road. He said the team grows each day, rather than from match to match, which translates to cleaner and sharper play on the court.

Jones certainly recognizes that mentality during the team’s practices.

‘[Jensen] has been on us about our attitude and focus and intensity to play like we’re in the finals of Wimbledon,’ Jones said. ‘Every point, every shot, no matter if you’re on the practice court or on the match court, you’re hitting the same ball and it requires the same focus.’

Syracuse will need that focus this weekend. Last season, Pittsburgh derailed the Orange’s undefeated home record and kept the team in a losing streak. This time, SU will try to be the one to crash the party.

‘We’ve been thinking about this for, honestly, 12 months,’ Jensen said. ‘(Pittsburgh) has had a great year so far. I think they’re having the best year in the history of that program. We’re sky high, we want it.’

azmeola@syr.edu

Published on March 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm