Spring Break
The Daily OrangeTEN | Kalhorn can take risks as SU wins again
By Meredith Galante
Posted: 3/27/08, 1:12 AM EST Section: Sports
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So much, in fact, that Kalhorn attempted a risky kick serve throughout most of her match against Colgate's Samantha Inacker. The move could have easily put the Orange back into a losing streak.
Despite a few faults and mistakes with the serve, Kalhorn and the rest of the Syracuse tennis team finished the day victorious. The Orange defeated the Raiders, 7-0, its second sweep in as many days, Wednesday at the Drumlins Country Club. SU (8-11, 5-4 Big East) defeated Villanova on Tuesday, 7-0.
Kalhorn and Tan were the only Syracuse pair to lose its match. Chelsea Jones and Ashley Spicer won, 8-5, and Maria Vasilyeva and Christina Tan won their match, 8-6. The two wins gave Syracuse the one doubles point of the match.
The freshman Kalhorn defeated Inacker 6-3, 6-1; however parts of the match were rocky for Kalhorn.
Introducing the serve Wednesday after just snapping a personal eight-match losing streak seems risky for Kalhorn, but SU head coach Luke Jensen boasts about her athletic ability and her need for some extra skills against nationally ranked players.
"I've been working on my kick serve, that has all that spin, all the time in practice," Kalhorn said. "I was trying not to blow her off the court with my shots, but I wanted to stay consistent and play hard."
A kick serve differs from a normal tennis serve based on how the player throws the ball up and the way the racket hits it. With a kick serve, the player tosses the ball up behind her head, and the racket hits the ball upward, instead of downward. The ball kicks in at the other side of the court, making for a difficult return
Even though Kalhorn is not executing the kick serve perfectly, Jensen saw the match against Colgate (7-5) as the perfect opportunity for her to practice it because it is a weapon she is going to need against Notre Dame and in the Big East tournament, he said.
The singles match was not the first time Kalhorn and Inacker met on the court that day - they faced each other in doubles play as well. However, the outcome was not in Kalhorn's favor.
Kalhorn and doubles partner Jacquelynn Tang lost to Inacker and partner Elise Derose, 8-1. During the doubles match, Colgate's pair dominated the first set. Inacker's 5-foot-11 frame was too much for Syracuse's No. 2 and No. 6 singles players.
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