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I Saw The Syracuse Women’s Team Practicing On Anna Maria Island
6 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
I was running some errands and passed by the three public courts on Anna Maria Island at around noon. And taking up two of the courts were five players garbed in dark blue and orange from the Syracuse University women’s team, working hard and fast. It was like watching five Nadals, slugging it out from the baseline, pounding overheads. I did not see one player take a water break or show even a hint of laziness in the ten minutes I was there.
Head coach Luke Jensen was not present, the associate coach Shelley George told me, Luke was with another player named Emily in Tampa as she was competing in a pro tournament. Coach George told me the Syracuse tennis team is elite now, all of the members of the roster are dedicated, serious, aspiring pros, which is a stark contrast compared to when Jensen took over the head coaching role in 2007. Syracuse is now a program where top talent want to play, primarily because Jensen is a highly regarded and respected figure in tennis. Jensen knows what it takes to succeed at the pro level, evidenced by his Grand Slam doubles title with his brother Murphy at the French Open, and a singles win over Andre Agassi. Jensen also shined during his part time gig as an ESPN2 color commentator a few years back.
This week the Syracuse team is getting ready for it’s season opener against South Florida on Saturday in Tampa. Coach George said the team is also practicing on clay this week at the nearby Cedars Club, which is about six miles down Gulf Drive in Longboat Key. Cedars is where former ATP #1 doubles star Ellis Ferreira has his academy with John Eagleton.
Luke got my message from coach George and he invited me to watch a full team practice later this week, which I will submit a report about. Stay tuned…
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Dan Markowitz · January 10, 2012 at 7:03 am
Scoop,
You are on the tennis pulse. Pretty impressive that Luke can get tennis big-time up at a cold-clime school like Syracuse in upstate, New York.
Scoop Malinowski · January 10, 2012 at 1:51 pm
It’s a very interesting team Dan, Coach George said they are working on the girls using serve and volley in matches, the other teams are stunned when they do it. Coach George says they want to bring back college tennis is a development system to create more pros, like how NCAA tennis produced Lisa Raymond, etc. It’s so true.. The talents are out there in the U.S. The Sampras, Courier, Agassi, Davenport, Williams are out there. They just need to be discovered and nurtured. Luke Jensen and Shelley George are doing the right thing with the Syracuse program.
Dan Markowitz · January 10, 2012 at 5:44 pm
I know it helps to have the Luke Jensen name, attitude and knowledge, but how the hell do you build a big time tennis program in–brr, brr–Syracuse, New York. I mean I went to school in that area and the weather is worse than horrible. They probably have to practice indoors most of the year and then travel a lot to play their matches, because with the exception of maybe Cornell, college tennis reeks in upstate New York.
Harold · January 10, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Hope they resurfaced their courts, played at Syracuse in USTA sectionals a couple of times around 12 years ago, and the courts werent big time College worthy..Just a crappy set-up and location
Scoop Malinowski · January 11, 2012 at 12:26 am
I think Luke is the kind of guy who can succeed in a place like Syracuse. The basketball and football programs succeeded so can tennis. I’m pretty sure the team has indoor courts to use on campus, that’s all you need. Travel is just a minor inconvenience.
Scoop Malinowski · January 11, 2012 at 12:28 am
Harold we played on those courts six years ago for Sectionals they are terrible, well not that bad, I won all three of my singles matches, two of them were wars though. Now in NJ we play on these courts which are even worse than Syracuse, and the high school team which has to use them – they are uneven, cracked, puddles when it rains, they have solid teams and they won the counties. So bad courts are no excuse, a good tough team will play hard on any court.