Following Syracuse’s (4-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) only lost point in doubles this season against Connecticut, SU’s Sofya Golubovskaya wasn’t happy with her play in a 3-6 loss alongside Anna Shkudun in first doubles.

“I missed everything,” Golubovskaya said. “(It was like) I was not there.”

Friday’s match was the freshman’s first experience playing No. 1 doubles after three previous doubles matches this season. Golubovskaya cited a lack of movement and preparation as reasons for her first doubles loss of the season.

This season, Golubovskaya has primarily played alongside Shkudun, with exception to one match, but chemistry has not come instantly. After arriving to the United States on Jan. 10, Golubovskaya has had a little more than a month to become in sync with her doubles partner. On top of that, she didn’t play a lot of doubles matches back home in Moscow, she said.

Problems started to arise on Jan. 26 against Colgate. After pairing up with Libi Mesh to win their doubles match, 6-0, Golubovskaya felt discomfort in her legs. She could barely run, she said, so the team decided to hold her out from competing and practicing for a couple of days.

Since then, Golubovskaya has found success in her singles matches, like her 6-1, 6-1, victory against Connecticut’s Jacquelyn Fitz-Randolph on Friday, but has fallen into a personal slump during doubles.

Syracuse focused mainly on singles preparation leading into the UConn match, Golubovskaya said, and she felt that she was unprepared to step into a first doubles role.

“It confused me,” Golubovskaya said when asked about not working on doubles the week prior.

To correct her current struggles, net play will be a point of emphasis for her. On Friday, Golubovskaya missed numerous opportunities to nail volleys for easy points and elected to defer the ball to Shkudun.

“It’s hard,” Golubovskaya said about playing close to the net, “I’m not too good at it.”

Despite the slow start, head coach Younes Limam highlighted her serve as a key to her future success in doubles. Limam believes Golubovskaya has “the tools to play very good doubles” later on this season.

“She just has to understand to be brave,” Limam said, “To not panic and not just wait for things to happen.”

Golubovskaya and Syracuse lost in doubles against Connecticut, both for the first time this season, but it didn’t stop SU from winning.

With five of its next seven matches on the road, and three of those seven against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, Syracuse needs the best version of Golubovskaya in doubles.

Published on February 13, 2018 at 10:10 pm

Contact KJ: kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman