In its second Big East road meet of the season, the Syracuse tennis team had a mission: prove its 2-1 conference start was no fluke.

The Orangewomen succeeded Saturday, beating Georgetown, 7-0, in Washington, D.C., to extend their winning streak to three meets and improve their record to 4-2 (3-1 Big East).

“This team, when they know what’s on the line, they really come through,” SU head coach Mac Gifford said. “They’re not just playing for themselves but for the whole team.’

Of the nine matches SU played Saturday, the Orangewomen managed to win eight. SU allowed only two victories — Daniela Kaluskova’s 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 win over Liora Gelblum and Jessica Schlosser’s 7-6, 6-7, 10-8 win over Monisha Ghia — to reach the third set.

The Orangewomen’s only loss came in doubles play, when Kristine Bech Holte and Alexa Konstand lost to Jordan Botjer and Ghia, 9-7. By winning the two other doubles matches, the Orangewomen were able to win the doubles point and shut out the Hoyas.

‘I thought it was going to come down to a couple of matches,’ Gifford said. ‘But there were a few really big surprises.’

Wei-Ming Leong — who won her match over Stephanie Sutton, 6-0, 6-2 — Schlosser and the Holte-Konstand duo managed to surpass Gifford’s expectations.

Konstand and Leong weren’t supposed to be in the lineup, since Trine Lise Juliussen was expected to make a quick recovery from a sprained ankle and return for Saturday’s meet. But after Juliussen slipped on a patch of ice and re-injured her ankle, Konstand and Leong were inserted.

Already dealing with an altered lineup, the Orangewomen met some harsh winter weather on their trip, too.

Since Teflon domes cover most tennis centers in the Washington area, 30 inches of snow caused 12 tennis facilities’ roofs to collapse.

The snow forced Georgetown to hold its three home weekend meets — against Syracuse, St. John’s and Pittsburgh — in Arlington, Va.

‘It was (a) neutral (site) for all of us,’ Gifford said. ‘So that really helped. But honestly, tennis is usually neutral, because we don’t get a lot of fans anyway.’

Though Georgetown is far from a tennis powerhouse, the victory bodes well for the Orangewomen’s season. The Hoyas had beat rival Seton Hall, 5-2, on Feb. 1.

“I realize that we’re better than we think,” Gifford said. “I need (the players) to realize this as well.’

Published on February 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm