A startled Jimena Wu situated herself on court six after a last-minute swap in the Syracuse lineup card unexpectedly placed her in the singles competition.

The freshman was so taken aback that she forgot to tie her shoes before stepping onto the court.

‘Her shoes weren’t even tied,’ head coach Luke Jensen said. ‘So I’m coaching her, saying, ‘Come on now, tie your shoes, get in your mindset and let’s get going.”

After sophomore Aleah Marrow passed out in the locker room minutes before her No. 6 singles match during senior day at Drumlins Tennis Center, Jensen turned to his freshman reserve to answer the call.

Wu notched her first collegiate victory with the No. 47 Orange, cruising past Petra Santini 6-4, 6-1. SU (12-4, 5-1 Big East) fed off Wu’s brilliance en route to a dominating 7-0 sweep of the Terriers (5-8, 1-1 America East) in the Orange’s last home match of the season. Wu stepped up and has proven to be a reliable option for Jensen within a very deep Syracuse lineup.

But coincidentally, she was completely unaware of her place in the starting lineup when she woke up early Sunday morning.

After Marrow’s strenuous 9-7 doubles defeat with freshman partner Amanda Rodgers, Marrow said her stomach felt uncomfortable. She immediately departed for the locker room to wash her face, accompanied by freshman Brianna Bachini and sophomore Maddie Kobelt, and shortly after passed out because of an exercise-induced asthma attack.

‘I went into locker room to wash my face off and just tanked,’ Marrow said. ‘I fell forward and just passed out.’

Marrow’s body was affected by the intense doubles match she had just played with Rodgers, and for health precautions, she was not able to continue.

Then it was Wu’s time to shine.

After lacing up her tennis sneakers, Wu gathered herself. She admitted she was a little overwhelmed, ‘basically nervous, anxious and excited at the same time.’

She was nervous because of the heightened emotions surrounding senior day, anxious to contribute for her team and excited to feel the joy of victory.

‘This is a pretty special day for all of us, with both seniors leaving and this being our last home match of the season,’ Wu said. ‘I wanted to do it for the seniors especially.’

It took a few clean strokes before Wu found a comfortable rhythm against her opponent. In the first game, Santini softly returned Wu’s serve over the net and into the right service box. Caught in between motions, Wu flailed her racket at the ball and peppered it into the net.

Wu glanced over at Jensen, who was sitting on the wooden bench overlooking the court and reminded her to stay within herself and play the style of tennis she was taught.

‘He got me into match mode,’ Wu said.

Wu, instilled with a new sense of confidence, stopped trying to outhit her opponent. Instead, she began hitting fundamental forehand and backhand shots to take the next two points and the first game of the set. Playing with a competitive edge, which Jensen said is crafted during practice, Wu outhustled and outsmarted her opponent.

The first collegiate victory was sweet, as Wu anticipated. But again, it’s Jensen’s aggressive nature in practice that forces his players to become better athletes and fiercer competitors.

‘We’re so close as a team, but we’re also so competitive,’ senior Alessondra Parra said. ‘… Competitive enough so that our practices feel like real matches.’

That’s because every time a player loses a match in practice, they run sprints as part of Jensen’s incentive-based program.

And Wu and her teammates will carry that intensity and dedication as they aim to finish their season strong and earn a bid in the NCAA tournament.

But for now, they’re just delighted about Wu’s first win as a member of the Orange.

‘They were so happy for me,’ Wu said. ‘They were chanting in the huddle after the match. I was embarrassed, but I knew it had to happen eventually.’

awmirmin@syr.edu

Published on March 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm