Sofya Golubovskaya bounced the ball nine times with her left hand and twisted her racket in her right. Her right thigh was wrapped thickly with tape that stretched to her knee cap. A protective sleeve covered her arm, too.

They were the signs of Golubovskaya’s nagging injuries in Syracuse’s 4-3 win on Sunday over then-No. 15 Florida State. Heading into the final set of her singles match, she had to tend to another ailment. Resident athletic trainer Carli White rubbed something “icey” on her shoulder.

Her body ached. But out of the timeout, Golubovskaya fired a serve that resulted in a forehand into the net by Florida State’s Ana Oparenovic. Then, the sophomore rattled off two points. Then three. After the FSU senior mishit a return at 40-0, Golubovskaya was rushed by her teammates. She had clinched Syracuse’s comeback win.

Since the fall, back pain turned into “tennis elbow” from overuse of her right arm, followed by thigh and shoulder aggravations, Golubovskaya said. This season, her injuries held her out of a Feb. 15 home match against Colorado. SU head coach Younes Limam didn’t know how long the injuries would affect his second doubles slot for. When Golubovskaya returned, she kept winning. Heading into Friday’s match against No. 2 North Carolina (20-1, 8-0 Atlantic Coast), Golubovskaya is 9-5 in singles for No. 28 Syracuse (11-6, 4-4). For now, her play has steadied.

“It’s go-time,” associate head coach Shelley George said of Golubovskaya. “You’re not thinking about (injuries) like that, you’re going after your job.”

In the week leading up to January’s ITA National Team Indoor Championship, Golubovskaya’s teammate and doubles partner Sonya Treshcheva suffered an ankle injury and missed a month. Golubovskaya kept on playing. Sometimes, it was only in doubles, even if she dropped down a slot. She went 1-3 when paired with seniors Masha Tritou and Libi Mesh, suddenly forced to create new chemistry.

Her elbow pain started two weeks into the spring season, Golubovskaya said, after the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Nearly every day since, she’s worked with White in the training room. Heat, stretch, exercise and cold pack — her daily routine. During matches, a black arm sleeve covers her right arm. “It’s fine, it’s getting better and better every day,” she said last week.

The thigh, which was wrapped Sunday, started hurting in practice the week prior. The year prior, Golubovskaya’s rallies usually ended in volleys close to the net. It’s what helped her rise to second singles as a freshman. Her injuries limited the power behind her shots.

With Syracuse in its toughest stretch of the season, Golubovskaya won’t have another match like Colorado to rest and recover. On Friday, SU hosts No. 2 North Carolina, which has three singles players and two doubles pairings in the top 10. Golubovskaya will likely face the No. 5 player in the country, Makenna Jones, or No. 9 Sara Daavettila.

“It’s hard, but you just have to work on it,” Golubovskaya said.

In doubles against FSU, her head dropped as an overhand smash sailed long. A couple of games later, she did it again. This time, the ball didn’t even touch the ground, it hit the Drumlins Country Club curtain still in the air. She started the match moving slowly, tired and frustrated at times.

Eventually, Golubovskaya flashed her potential. To clinch the second set in singles, Golubovskaya sprinted from corner-to-corner, chasing rallies from Oparenovic. She fired a forehand winner. “Great work, Sofya. Great work,” strength and conditioning coach Will Hicks shouted.

Golubovskaya flopped onto the bench and waved her empty water bottle. Minutes later, up 6-5, it was more than just Hicks chanting. The chair umpire raised his hand for silence. The point played, and Limam waved his hands for the chant to continue.

Despite the thigh, the shoulder, the bicep, the back, Golubovskaya’s continued winning in the bulk of her matches, like her clincher Sunday. She’s adapted, settling in for SU as she heals.

“We’re an athlete,” Golubovskaya said. “We don’t really have times to recover.”

Published on March 27, 2019 at 12:22 am

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew