Anyone knows that the difference between 10 and seven is three. But to the Syracuse tennis team, the difference is far greater.

The Orangewomen need three wins added to their current total of seven, and they’ll have reached their goal for this season. With those three wins, SU (7-5, 3-1 Big East) will surpass its total of nine wins from last year.

Freshman Wei-Ming Leong realizes how much this feat would mean to her five teammates who won’t return next year because of transfers or graduation.

‘It’s very important to us,’ Leong said. ‘We’re such a tight group. The seniors want to go out with a bang.’

The wins would also allow the Orangewomen to justify the soaring confidence they’ve displayed since returning from their Spring Break, despite a 5-2 loss last Saturday to Missouri.

Syracuse’s mind-set appears just as good heading into this weekend’s Big East meets against Seton Hall tomorrow morning at 11 in South Orange, N.J., and against Rutgers on Sunday afternoon at 1 in Piscataway, N.J. Wins over the Pirates and Scarlet Knights will put the Orangewomen in a tie for wins with last year’s squad.

Although Syracuse beat both of these teams in each of the last two seasons, Leong said the team will not be caught off guard.

‘This week, we expect Rutgers to be a little bit better,’ Leong said. ‘But we’ve always beaten them in the past.’

Head coach Mac Gifford agrees with Leong.

‘This team has its mind on how well they need to do in the Big East,’ Gifford said.

One factor SU may have to overcome is its mediocre road performances. The Orangewomen are 4-4 away from Drumlins Tennis Center, and three of their four road wins came during neutral-site matches in Boca Raton, Fla., during Spring Break.

‘If we have a victory, great,’ Leong said. ‘When you’re on the road, though, it’s tough to relax.’

In some ways, though, Syracuse can relax, because it still has five matches remaining for the three wins it needs to accomplish its goal.

‘They’re not playing for themselves,’ Gifford said. ‘They’re playing for the team.’

Published on March 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm