Alessondra Parra uncomfortably shifted her weight from right to left as she awaited a serve against Louisville in the Big East tournament. When the ball crossed the net, the senior captain took three explosive steps to her left, lunged at it, and came up short grimacing in pain.

For head coach Luke Jensen, the painful sight epitomized the Orange’s struggles this season.

‘I really thought it was a culmination of the entire season,’ Jensen said. ‘We never really had the entire team on the same page physically, going all the way back to the first day of school. Something was always going on.’

Despite high hopes of clinching its first berth in the NCAA tournament, the Orange (14-6) was left on the outside looking in once again. Only six players made the trip to Tampa, Fla., for the Big East tournament, where the Orange was upset by Louisville in the quarterfinals before defeating Rutgers in a consolation match.

The banged up and bruised Syracuse team failed to achieve its preseason goal of competing for a national championship, but Jensen’s program also enjoyed its best season in program history. The Orange rose as high as No. 39 in the national rankings and defeated its first ranked opponent, then-No. 25 Yale for a landmark win.

‘In retrospect, you can say there’s no doubt (injuries) played a huge part,’ Jensen said. ‘But what we’re trying to build here is a bigger picture. We constantly ask ourselves, are we managing the program in the right direction?

‘… Our mindset is always to win it at all, but I’m so proud of the high standards we’ve reached this season.’ 

The Orange began its season with a match against then-No. 42 South Florida. The Bulls dominated Syracuse 5-2, but Jensen’s team used the match as a learning experience for the rest of the season.

He tested his young team with matches against ranked foes Texas Christian University (then-No. 51), Ohio State (then No. 57) and Yale (then-No. 25). In his sixth season coaching the Orange, Jensen said he wanted the program to gain national exposure and the tough schedule helped move SU closer to that goal.

The Orange quickly found its confidence, though, winning seven of its next nine matches. Then came the highlight of SU’s memorable regular season – a 4-3 victory over then-No. 25 Yale at Drumlins Tennis Center on Feb. 26.

The remarkable victory catapulted the Orange into the national rankings and showed how far the program had come under Jensen.

Senior Emily Harman said this year’s group took the program to the next level, moving SU one step closer to making noise nationally.

‘We had to beat ranked teams this season, and we definitely brought that to the table,’ Harman said. ‘I think we’re more battle-tested now, because we know how to carry ourselves in a big moment.’

Jensen said the program is on the rise and it shows in the rankings and on the recruiting trail. The head coach said elite prospects are starting to heavily consider Syracuse with its move to the Atlantic Coast Conference – the top league in the nation – in the near future.

‘We’re recruiting big-time players, and people are starting to take notice,’ Jensen said. ‘These blue chips are going to run into the best competition in the country, so that helps us line up our positives and say, ‘If you come here, you’re going to succeed.”

Jensen quickly noted freshman standout Amanda Rodgers, a former blue-star prospect that wasted little time enhancing her game and asserting her lefty dominance at the college level. In her first season, Rodgers tied the all-time record for most consecutive single matches won (14) and departed South Florida two weekends ago as the team’s most efficient singles player with an 18-2 record.

With an advantage recruiting top talent and the core of the team returning, SU has a bright future ahead.

Although injuries derailed the Orange late in the season, the team is in position to accomplish its goal moving forward.

And even as Syracuse saw its dreams end with the loss to Louisville, Harman was proud looking back on all her team accomplished.

‘It was a bitter end to a great season,’ Harman said. ‘I realized how far the team has come. Even though we lost, even though we didn’t finish the way we wanted, it was still a learning opportunity. It’s all about progressing and improving.’

awmirmin@syr.edu

Published on May 8, 2012 at 12:00 pm