Once again, the Syracuse tennis team’s hopes of taking the doubles point were left in the hands of Chelsea Jones and Ashley Spicer. SU and Rutgers spilt the first two doubles matches with the pair’s doubles match still on the court. Whichever team won would receive the first point of the match.

Going into the match, Syracuse was 10-0 when it won the doubles point. A win from Jones and Spicer would give the Orange a one-point lead going into singles play, something it cannot seem to win without.

The entire crowd stood around the pair’s court, cheering and waiting through the match and then the tiebreaker. Jones and Spicer won seven straight points in the tiebreaker, winning, 9-8 (7-0).

The rest of the Orange followed suit, defeating the Scarlet Knights, 6-1, Saturday at the Drumlins Country Club. Sunday, the Orange’s four-game winning streak was snapped in a 6-1 loss to No. 20 Notre Dame in SU’s season finale.

Jones and Spicer’s match Saturday captivated the audience with some nifty play by the SU duo. When Rutgers’ Christine Tran and Polina Zaretser returned the ball to Syracuse’s side of the court, Jones was not prepared, but the ball hit her racket by chance and went over the net. Tran and Zaretser were unable to return the ball, giving Jones and Spicer the point.

The last point of the game was notched by Spicer, ending the doubles match with an aggressive spike to give Syracuse (10-12, 7-5) the coveted double’s point.

‘They had a couple match points go against them,’ SU head coach Luke Jensen said. ‘But they got it together, and Ashley’s positive energy is tremendous. When she’s positive, she plays her best tennis.’

Jones and Spicer are 5-2 playing together and have a five-game winning streak. The two continue to be the most enthusiastic doubles pair, possessing the best chemistry on the court, constantly verbally encouraging each other and yelling with the win of every point.

Spicer is on a five-game winning streak in singles play, recovering from a mid-season six-game losing streak. In singles play Saturday, Spicer defeated Caitlin Baker, 6-2, 6-2.

‘The rest of the team knows Spicer is going to win,’ Jensen said. ‘The rest of the team relies on knowing she is going to win. It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the team. She walks out onto the court and knows she is going to win, not hoping. Then when she finishes early, she helps add to the cheering energy for her teammates. It’s a tremendous help.’

Spicer said her confidence has improved tremendously and that she puts a lot of pressure on herself to win.

Jones also is leading the young Syracuse squad by winning on the court. Since her heartbreaking singles loss to Pittsburgh’s Carlie Smith on March 23, which resulted in the Orange losing, 4-3, Jones has tallied a four-game winning streak. Jones didn’t falter Saturday when in a similar position during the doubles play.

‘I grew mentally so much from that match (Pittsburgh),’ Jones said. ‘When I’m up match point, I can’t let my emotions or nerves get in the way of a win.’

Jones won her singles match against Christine Tran, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7). Not only did the Pittsburgh match change Jones, but the sophomore’s statistics indicate she has improved dramatically since her freshman year. Last year, Jones was 8-34, but she is 23-18 this season.

Rutgers’ (10-7, 4-3) lone point in the match came from Amy Zhang, who defeated Simone Kalhorn, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 2 position.

Jones and Spicer were bumped up to the No. 1 doubles position for the Notre Dame match but suffered an 8-3 loss in South Bend, Ind. It was the duo’s first loss since March 14 at Central Florida. But the two see themselves maturing emotionally and have been able to execute points while the game is on the line.

‘Jones and I try to always keep our emotions in check,’ Spicer said. ‘We didn’t capitalize on winning our first match point. But then we won the tiebreak, 7-0, I think that says a lot about how Jones and I stay focused and are confident in our play. We tried not to think about that our match would decide the doubles point, but we just try to stay focused in the present.’

mkgalant@syr.edu

Published on April 6, 2008 at 12:00 pm