Shelley George patted the top of Sofya Golubovskaya’s head and sighed. The SU associate head coach watched Golubovskaya once again control another rally and let it slip away. For nearly a half-dozen shots, Golubovskaya sent Miami’s Daevenia Achong from corner-to-corner, switching between backhands and forehands. Golubovskaya just lacked the winner.

A shot went long and Golubovskaya plopped herself onto the bench and buried her head into a white towel.

In recent weeks, Golubovskaya has jumped between second and third singles. Head shakes, racket smacks and arms swings are the signs of frustration that’ve defined Golubovskaya’s last two weekends. As Syracuse’s (12-9, 5-7 Atlantic Coast) regular season concludes, the mental battles Golubovskaya faced last season are “coming back,” she said. They’re the battles Golubovskaya and her coaches thought were fixed after a 3-1 singles start. The lack of self-trust they thought she regained. But deep into the ACC schedule, they’ve returned.

“I was kind of playing with myself when you have to overcome the things in your head,” Golubovskaya said. “I guess I have to not discourage because of the shot and trust myself.”

Whenever Guzal Yusupova misses a shot, she’ll follow her next make with a loud “mine.” As the matches progress, Yusupova’s shouts only get louder. Teammates and coaches have tried to encourage Golubovskaya. Yet, it won’t help unless she’s engaged with it, Yusupova said.

Gabriela Knutson said a lack of a consistent lineup slot can disrupt a player’s rhythm. Since Golubovskaya returned to singles from an elbow injury, Golubovskaya has fluctuated from third singles one match to second singles the next, and then back again.

“If I knew that, ‘On no, if I lose on Friday I might play No. 2 on Sunday,’” Knutson said, “that’s so much stress.”

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Two weekends ago, against then-No. 2 UNC and then-No. 10 NC State, Golubovskaya was too aggressive on first serves and too passive on the second. Her ground strokes and returns were too predictable, and Golubovskaya couldn’t control the pace, SU head coach Younes Limam said.

Days later, her frustration again showed. Golubovskaya lifted her feet up and threw her hands from her head to her knees. On the 12th shot of a rally, she had backed NC State’s Alana Smith into the corner, but then fired a forehand shot into the net. Golubovskaya shook her head. Minutes later, she sulked her way over to the bench, plopped down and flung a towel over her shoulder. It was the opposite of Golubovskaya’s earlier-season form. Frustration appeared when unforced errors occurred, but she didn’t let it overtake the match.

The entire season, George and Limam had said that in those situations, they key is to keep Golubovskaya calm. During the first two matches of the spring, those talks worked. Against Brown and Columbia, Golubovskaya twice overcame a lost set and twice refound her rhythm. She trailed the Lions’ Jennifer Kerr 5-2 in the third set and crawled back from down two breaks.

“I’m just telling myself that this shot is the right shot to do, just trust myself and that’s all I need to do,” Golubovskaya said that day.

Three months later, Golubovskaya smacked her shoes with her racket when rallies hit the net. Her hands waved off shots that she sent long. Her mouth moved as she muttered to herself in between a point she lost. Golubovskaya’s still 10-8 this season, but only 1-3 in the last two weekends.

After Golubovskaya lost to NC State, she packed up her red Wilson bag and leaned it up against the bench. She walked into the middle of her court and was embraced by Masha Tritou. But Golubovskaya just shook her head.

Finally, Tritou wrapped one arm around Golubovskaya and squeezed her close. Golubovskaya just dabbed her face with her towel. Last year’s problems surfaced again, and Golubovskaya had let them win.

Published on April 8, 2019 at 10:42 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew