The Syracuse tennis team will face challenges beyond the Eagles today when it plays at Boston College.

Playing at BC’s Flynn Recreation Complex poses problems of its own. The ceilings are too low, the court surface is too fast and, every now and then, you lose sight of the ball.

It blends in with the color of the backdrop, and the playing surface is smoother and faster than in any other Big East venue. Since the ceiling is unusually low, high shots are out of the question.

‘We have practice in the morning to get used to the courts,’ said sophomore Trine Lise Juliussen, who has never played at BC. ‘I have no idea what the surface will be like, and that’s where I’ll make my biggest changes.’

Oh, and don’t forget the angry Boston College tennis fans. The belligerent spectators stand on the track around the courts and harass the opposing team.

‘If you were pretty, they’d harass you about that,’ junior Jessica Schlosser said. ‘They weren’t drunk — they just acted like it.’

That means a huge home-court advantage for the Eagles, though Syracuse has been preparing all season for the hostile environment. Since doubles — SU’s strong point — are played first, SU tennis coach Mac Gifford hopes a win there will intimidate BC for the singles matches.

Boston College is SU’s Big East rival, Gifford said, making this one of the season’s most important meets. Boston College is among the top four teams in the Big East, Gifford said, so toppling the Eagles would be a milestone for SU.

‘We’re competitive with Boston College,’ Gifford said. ‘Year in and year out, they seem to just squeak by us.’

Today’s Boston College meet is only the first fight of SU’s weekend. Tomorrow, the Orangewomen will make the 45-minute ride to Providence, R.I., to face Brown. Syracuse has beaten Brown in the past, but Ivy League tennis teams historically dominate SU.

‘Not only are we talking about good tennis players,’ Gifford said, ‘but we’re talking about smart tennis players.’

‘It’s Ivy League, so they’re kind of stuck up anyway,’ Schlosser said. ‘You want to just rub it in and beat them.’

This weekend’s matches will prepare Syracuse for the Big East competition — Rutgers, West Virginia and Seton Hall — it will face during the next two months.

‘They’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years,’ Gifford said of the Orangewomen. ‘They’re quite capable of pulling off an upset — or two upsets — this weekend.’

Published on February 6, 2003 at 12:00 pm