The score was 15-15 in the first game of Valeria Salazar and Komal Safdar’s last regular season match as doubles partners.

Safdar returned a volley, but Syracuse received a lofty hit from Georgia Tech’s then-No. 16th-ranked Kendal Woodard and Paige Hourigan duo that gave the Yellow Jackets the point.

A few points later, Safdar poached again and the ball went out to give Georgia Tech a break and a 1-0 lead.

It was yet another unforced error for Safdar and Salazar, who boasted an 8-2 record before last weekend’s roughing.

“I think those little things is what really makes the difference between a win and a loss,” Safdar said.

Despite strong play through most of the season, Safdar and Salazar lost two consecutive doubles matches against North Carolina State and Georgia Tech to close out the regular season. The tandem will try to regain its form as Syracuse (8-12, 3-11 Atlantic Coast) plays its first-round ACC tournament match against Louisville (11-16, 2-12) on Wednesday at noon in Cary, North Carolina.

An inability to finish at the net was just one issue that contributed to Salazar and Safdar’s subpar weekend. They missed multiple first serves, a prominent issue at the start of their match against N.C. State.

Salazar missed five first serves in the first game of the match. Two of those were on points in which the pair strategically lined themselves up vertically. But with the lack of success, the Orange reverted back to a more conventional formation.

Senior Amanda Rodgers said part of what makes them a strong team is their ability to mix up their strategy.

Missed serves, though, made that more difficult.

It was not typical play from Salazar, who normally is a stronger and better server. These mistakes, along with the ones that Safdar made at the start of the Georgia Tech match, made it difficult for them to make a strong first impression on their opponents.

“Usually we just come out and we almost scare our opponents because we just serve them off the court and volley them off the court,” Safdar said. “… I think just the first few games we let them take control (on Sunday).”

Salazar admitted that their play as a team was more erratic this weekend, and she also said she struggled with returns, noting her footwork wasn’t as strong.

Safdar said that the pair would practice returns in the little time they had leading up to the ACC tournament, and Salazar said they would work on getting more balls in play in general.

Both said that they would also practice being aggressive with their net play.

“Sometimes we play cross-court points,” Salazar said, “and then the one at the net has to poach.”

Syracuse head coach Younes Limam could only credit SU’s opponent on Sunday, and wants to talk to his whole team before it embarks as a No. 12 seed in the conference tournament.

“They played a little bit better than us,” Limam said. “And yeah, that was the difference.”

Safdar and Salazar see their own play had flaws in these two losses and pointed to themselves more after the weekend.

But Safdar intends to leave those behind her as she and Salazar prepare to play against Louisville, a team against which the Orange secured the doubles point in their last meeting on March 27.

“I think the biggest thing is just to know that we have the shots and we can play tennis obviously,” Safdar said. “These last two matches I don’t think are reflective of our talent or what we can do, and we just need to go back to our old tennis matches.”

Published on April 21, 2015 at 8:33 pm

Contact Kevin: kjpacell@syr.edu