Ashley Spicer and Chelsea Jones are only juniors on the Syracuse tennis team, but they know they’ll have to act like seniors during the 2009 season as they look to lead a young, inexperienced squad.

‘We take it upon ourselves,’ Spicer said. ‘We are the oldest, we’re the most experienced, and we want to be there for our teammates.’

The Orange enters the season with a young team that has no seniors and only two juniors. Also returning are sophomores Katlyn Haycock, Simone Kalhorn, Christina Tan and Jacquelynn Tang.

Freshmen Emily Harman, Allison Haynes and Victoria Ford make up the rest of the squad.

Head coach Luke Jensen does not see the team’s youth as a problem, but rather an opportunity. He said every practice has been intense, and the players have shown commitment to the team.

‘I don’t see panic in them. I don’t see uncertainty,’ Jensen said of the freshmen.

Jensen said the team’s inexperience last season hurt them, but this year is different. The juniors on the team have let the freshmen know what it will be like to play at this level.

‘I think they’re really stepping it up,’ Jones said. ‘They’re following our lead in terms of spirit and energy and passion, and they’re really looking up to us.’

The Orange finished 11-14 last season, going 8-7 in Big East action. This season, the team is looking to utilize its junior leadership, core of sophomores and energetic freshmen to improve that record.

The juniors provide the stability at the top. Spicer finished the 2008 regular season with a 15-10 record in singles matches and an 11-14 record in doubles. Jones was 13-10 in singles and 12-13 in doubles.

‘Last year we were even younger, and although our record wasn’t where we wanted it to be, we’ve made massive improvements,’ Spicer said. ‘I think the fact that we’re young allows us to really capitalize on our potential day in and day out.’

Jensen’s main focus is making sure his team is mentally and physically prepared for the challenges ahead. The players on the team echoed that sentiment.

‘Things like consistency and aggressiveness, those are important,’ Spicer said. ‘But as long as we have our effort and our energy and our enthusiasm, we feel like our game is going to be where we want it to be.’

Jensen said that as a player, certain games on the schedule have an extra quality to them. He acknowledged the team’s enthusiasm for conference play.

‘This team is jacked up for the Big East season,’ Jensen said.

azmeola@syr.edu

Published on January 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm