Brittany Lashway and Sophia Dzulynsky were mostly unfazed by their first day of a genuine Syracuse winter. The freshmen, both from Florida, said Tuesday’s cold and biting winds were the first legitimate problems they’ve had with the climate in Syracuse.

SU head coach Luke Jensen said that’s a testament to their life experiences, and shows the resolve of the player he wants in his program.

“They could stay in Florida, they could go to another warm school, but it wouldn’t be the same challenge as it is here,” Jensen said. “We just make it really tough on them. We recruit them, and we’re looking for that tough-nosed kid.”

They developed that toughness through years of travel away from their native Florida for national and international competition. Lashway and five-star recruit Dzulynsky attended online and home school, respectively, learning on their own in order to devote more time to training and competition.

Though their commitment to tennis shaped them into top recruits out of high school, Lashway and Dzulynsky had to adapt to new responsibilities at Syracuse, in tennis and in their day-to-day lives.

“Their parents go beyond being parents to managers, basically time managers,” Jensen said. “Everything is so structured. There’s so much now that’s on their plate that they’ve got to make those decisions.”

They traveled extensively playing tennis as individuals. Dzulynsky spent much of the past year playing tournaments in Turkey. With the demands of playing tennis at an elite level, most top recruits spurn traditional schooling in favor of a system that fits with their training.

The journey from Florida to Syracuse may pale in comparison to the one overseas to Turkey, but the change in schooling has been a considerable adjustment.

“I didn’t go to middle school or high school,” Lashway said. “This is the first time I’ve gone to school, not from home, in some time.”

High school was mostly an individual undertaking for Lashway and Dzulynsky. Learning for Lashway, on the computer or phone through Manatee Virtual High School, and Dzulynsky, at home in Mirimar, Fla., or in Turkey while playing there, took place on their own time.

“That’s just what you have to do,” Jensen said. “It’s just the culture of our sport.”

Both Lashway and Dzulynsky said they enjoyed the benefits of individualized education. Lashway said she suffers from a learning disability that hinders her ability to learn at the pace of a larger group.

The biggest drawbacks of their grueling tennis regimen, they said, were social.

“Trying to make friends outside of the team, in classes, I’ll still say, ‘OK, just do class and get out of here,’” Lashway said.

When the freshmen came to Syracuse, they were not only adjusting to academics in a mass setting, but also to tennis as a team sport.

It’s a challenge that most of Jensen’s teams face. Lashway and Dzulynsky come from tennis families, both of which have prepared them for a team environment.

“I have two younger sisters, so we’re like that already,” Lashway said. “To me, it was adding to a different team and adding to an extended family. I feel the family presence. It’s great for support, and I think it helps on the court.”

Jensen said Lashway and Dzulynsky were prepared for their transition from the start. He said they were top-notch athletes that had already shown the resolve it takes to succeed in a new environment.

Jensen didn’t want to recruit anyone that couldn’t meet the academic, social and athletic commitments of a player in his program, least of all a little bit of wind.

“When I recruit them, I talk to them about the weather right away, I talk to them about their schedules and how we try to find the toughest competition,” Jensen said. “And I try to tap into that nerve – ‘How big is the mountain? How are you going to test me?’”

Published on January 23, 2013 at 12:32 am

Contact Jacob: jspramuk@syr.edu