SU student-athletes share their daily rituals and superstitions that they believe affect their game.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan wore his University of North Carolina basketball shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform every game. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs was known for eating a chicken before each baseball game. Top female tennis player Serena Williams always brings her shower sandals to the court.
But why do these athletes do these same things before every game?
The Syracuse women's tennis team remained unbeaten at home as it swept Big East rival UConn on Senior Day, 7-0.
Syracuse women’s tennis ended its regular season on a high note Friday, sweeping the University of Connecticut, 7-0. The Orange finished the regular season 16-6 and 8-1 in the Big East.
Though an exciting end to the season, the match was bittersweet as it was the last one for seniors Christina Tan, Jacquelynn Tang, and Simone Kalhorn. Their coaches and fellow teammates honored all three girls in a ceremony before the match.
“This is not an easy program,” SU head coach Luke Jensen said. “These girls really set the tone for the whole rest of the team.”
Syracuse continued its hot play of late, demolishing Pittsburgh, 7-0 on the road. The win gave the Orange a 4-2 mark on their recent six-game road trip.
In its final road match of the 2011 season, the Syracuse women’s tennis team dominated the Pittsburgh Panthers, 7-0. The Orange finished the season 6-6 away from home, including going 4-2 over a difficult six game road trip.
Freshman Maddie Kobelt has quickly established herself as one of the premier players on the court for Syracuse. She has amassed a 13-4 record at the No. 2 singles spot, and also competes with the No. 1 doubles team.
Talent alone doesn’t make someone a star, though SU freshman tennis player Maddie Kobelt certainly isn’t lacking it. Being a tennis ace, also requires determination, hard work, intelligence, and a positive attitude, all of which Kobelt possesses.
“Maddie is a goofball with a warrior mindset,” Orange head coach Luke Jensen said. “She’s fun to be around but zeroes in on the competition as soon as the match starts.”
Syracuse had a successful weekend, winning two of three games. However, the Orange did lose their first conference game of the season, falling to Rutgers, 4-3.
It was a weekend of ups and downs for the Syracuse Orange. Dominating victories against Army and St. John’s, both 7-0, were slightly clouded by a close Sunday loss to conference rival Rutgers, 4-3.
Syracuse evened its road record on the season at 2-2 with a sound beating of the Temple Owls Sunday.
Syracuse upped its record to 9-2 Sunday with an impressive road rout of the Temple Owls, 6-1. The Owls had an impressive home record of 3-1 before falling to the Orange.
The lone Syracuse loss came at the hands of Temple freshman Yana Mavrina at the No. 4 singles in a hard-fought, three-set victory against senior co-captain Christina Tan.
Syracuse beat Seton Hall, Buffalo, and Cincinnati in dominating fashion this past weekend to improve their overall record to 7-1, including 3-0 in Big East Play.
The Syracuse women’s tennis team swept its competition this weekend, beating Seton Hall University, the University of Buffalo, and Cincinnati University on three consecutive days. With a combined score of 19-2 for the weekend, the Orange improved to 7-1 on the season and 3-0 in Big East Conference play.
Though none of these teams holds as impressive a record as Syracuse (UC 1-6, Seton Hall 1-5, Buffalo 2-2), all three teams fought extremely hard and made Syracuse work for every point, game, set, and match.