Mac Gifford, coach of the Syracuse tennis team, likes to think of the fall season as “Tennis 101.”

The players have been studying fundamentals and building team chemistry throughout the early season. This weekend, they take the final exam.

The Orangewomen left yesterday evening for the Maryland Invitational in College Park, Md. The event runs nearly uninterrupted Friday through Sunday and will be Syracuse’s second tournament of the year. The Orangewomen have had two weeks since a solid showing at the Cornell Tournament to prepare.

“This is a test,” Gifford said. “We’re going to go play against good teams, good players. The team will get very good match experience.”

Richmond, West Virginia, Penn State, George Washington, American and Cornell will also play in the event, hosted by Maryland.

Gifford said those teams make up the best competition Syracuse has seen this year. Gifford is so impressed by the field that he refrained from speaking about the opponents at practice this week so his players wouldn’t be intimidated.

But the tournament offers Syracuse some things other than top competition.

Playing quality squads at fall tournaments gives more exposure to Syracuse’s top players, namely No. 1-doubles tandem Masha Kabanova and Shervin Saedinia. A good performance this weekend could earn the pair a bid to prestigious tournaments and, ultimately, a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Gifford also thinks a good showing this weekend could bolster his team’s confidence.

“We can beat anyone in the country. I just have to get them to believe that,” Gifford said. “This weekend, I’ll probably have to give each of my players a speech saying, ‘The person over across the net is awesome. But you know what? You can beat her.’ ”

Syracuse will attempt to defeat top teams by switching styles, something it constantly works on in practice. Gifford emphasizes having multiple strategies. That way, if an opponent earns an advantage early, the match isn’t over.

And instead of playing two matches like at a normal meet, players will participate in three or four daily this weekend.

“I can find out which girls are practice players and who is going to excel in competition,” Gifford said. “My No. 4 player now could end up being the No. 1 player.”

Said Kabanova: “We just want to see where we are, where we’re standing, what we need to work on in the future for our season, which starts in the spring.

“It’s going to be my fourth time playing the tournament, so I want to go do my best. It’s my last year, so I’ll give everything I have.”

Published on September 26, 2002 at 12:00 pm