Valeria Salazar walked toward the bench and fixed the score on the scoreboard. She sat down, grabbed her apple and took a bite. Composed and relaxed, Salazar focused on what lied ahead. She walked back onto the court ready to serve after pulling ahead 4-1 in the second set.

Salazar jumped ahead 5-2, and on match point, a well-fought rally ended when Columbia’s Rima Asatrian’s shot landed just past the baseline. Asatrian let out a moan and dropped her racket. The two met at the net and shook hands, as Salazar let out a big smile.

“I just kept hitting my shots, trying to move her,” Salazar said. “I noticed she wasn’t moving very well, so it was easy for me to be in control of the point.”

Syracuse (1-0) won its first meet of the season against No. 58 Columbia University (1-2) by a score of 4-3 on Friday afternoon at Drumlins Country Club and it was the junior leading the young team.

Within 30 minutes of starting, Gabriela Knutson and Dina Hegab took home the first doubles match, 6-2.

In the second doubles match, Salazar and senior Anna Shkudun took a 4-3 lead over Columbia’s Asatrian and Alexandra Solovyev. With the match coming close, Salazar took hold of the ball, threw it in the air and connected with her racket. The ball descended quickly, bouncing off the net, resulting in a fault.

Shkudun walked over to Salazar, who seemed a bit discouraged, high-fived her and gave her words of encouragement. Salazar went back to her spot, took a deep breath and muttered the words, “Go Orange.”

On the following play, an ace flew right by Columbia’s top duo. The Orange took momentum, winning its fifth and sixth games back-to-back. The win gave Syracuse its first point in the meet.

“I’ve played a couple times before with her, so I think we’re feeling really comfortable to play together,” Shkudun said. “And today was just the next match for us.”

In the singles matches, Salazar took home the first win and paved the way for Hegab and Knutson to follow. Even while Salazar had a healthy 6-3, 4-1 lead over her opponent, the nerves kicked in.

“I was actually a little bit nervous on closing,” Salazar said, “so I tried to be more vocal and cheer more for my teammates and myself, and that gets me going. I play better that way.”

Salazar is one of just two returning players that played in the first meet of the season. She’s been on the team longer than Younes Limam, who is in his second season as head coach.

The inexperienced Orange felt some nerves Friday, but it wasn’t apparent in its win against a ranked opponent as Salazar made her presence known.

“(Salazar) played unbelievable tennis,” Limam said. “… She’s not the loudest out there, but she leads by example.”

Published on January 29, 2016 at 7:33 pm

Contact Charlie: csdistur@syr.edu | @charliedisturco