Up two breaks to start the second, Guzal Yusupova slipped up. There had been no problems to that point, no remnants of the back injury that kept her out for the past two weeks. She didn’t panic; Yusupova broke Liz Norman, then went up 40-0, finally winning her match as Norman returned a shot too long.

It was the first time since March 17 that Yusupova played in a singles match. The brief hiatus is just one of the many injuries the No. 30 Orange (11-8, 4-6 Atlantic Coast) have struggled with as of late. Sonya Treshcheva missed over a month with an ankle injury. Sofya Golubovskaya has dealt with nagging injuries all season including “tennis elbow,” an injury caused by the overuse of her right arm. The Orange haven’t had a fully healthy lineup since Feb. 3, and going forward, Syracuse looks to balance rest with getting the most out of a deep lineup.

“If it means everybody needs to play, then everybody needs to play,” SU head coach Younes Limam said. “If it means we have to rest somebody, then we will do that.”

No. 20 Gabriela Knutson, No. 82 Miranda Ramirez and Dina Hegab are the only players to appear in every doubles and singles match this season. Associate head coach Shelley George said similar issues of wear and tear are happening to every team in the country.

Switching players out after doubles is just one way to manage different players’ loads. With a short bench, Limam has had to be creative with who plays and who rests and on which court those players line up.

“Just having that discipline to go through that process of rehab and just weather the storm,” Limam said. “Because your body is not going to feel 100% day in and day out. It’s a long season, we know that. It’s a lot of matches but every elite team is doing the same thing, so we just have to be discipline with doing everything that we can to be prepared.”

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While Knutson is always at first singles, Ramirez played seven matches at second singles going 5-2 while Golubovskaya nursed injuries, playing the rest at third. Hegab (11-7) has lined up all over with 11 matches at fifth singles, six at sixth and two at fourth.

Masha Tritou has only slotted into singles four times, but did so three times at third singles. Libi Mesh has been utilized at sixth singles five of her 11 matches, also appearing occasionally at fifth. She is 6-3 from those two spots.

“It’s the most important time of the season, and I think everyone is doing a great job with preparation and getting treatment,” Hegab said. “And for us as a team, everyone is always ready to step up whenever.”

But SU’s doubles pairings have been more consistent. Knutson and Ramirez have played every match at first doubles and Hegab and Yusupova have every match together (16 at third), even through Yusupova’s back injury. While the most popular second pairing has been Golubovskaya and Treshcheva (12 times, going 5-2), injuries have allowed Tritou to sub in.

Yusupova said after Sunday’s match that “everything is better” with Yusupova’s back. She said she had no extra off days during the rehab process, doing many exercises while making sure to keep her legs strong. For the two games she was held out of singles, she agreed with Limam that she probably couldn’t run for two-and-a-half hours.

Health plays a role in Limam’s shuffling of the singles lineup, sometimes not making decisions until an hour before the match. He takes everything going up to the weekend into account; depending on how players progress with lingering injuries over the week, it can change his view of which player will fit best at each court.

“It’s conversations we have with our trainer Carli about where she feels they’re at,” George said. “And then it’s conversations with the coaches as well … then also managing the injury if there is something to manage at that point and to make determinations about whether they’re going to be eligible for singles after doubles.”

With every player finally healthy enough for singles at the same time, the Orange can play around with their lineup more. It comes at a key stretch for Syracuse, which has lost three of its last four matches, all against then-top-15 opponents. After once being ranked No. 10 in the nation, the Orange have fallen as far down as No. 32 with a lackluster 4-6 conference record.

“They’ve played enough tennis by now,” Limam said. “So we need to be adjustable, flexible, adaptable and just be ready for adversity … I love how we’re embracing it and we’re making the most out of it.”

Published on April 3, 2019 at 12:15 am

Contact Eric: estorms@syr.edu