When Kayla Treanor stepped into the draw circle in the season opener against Loyola, it marked a new layer added to her illustrious career. And just like most everything else she’s done, Treanor thrived on the draw that day, setting a school record with 19 draw controls and putting any concerns of former faceoff specialist Kailah Kempney’s departure in the rearview mirror.

SU’s 14.28 draw controls per game is the fourth-best mark in the country and Treanor’s individual mark of 9.06 per game is the best in the country. SU has won almost 90 more draws than its opponents through 18 games.

“No, not at all,” assistant coach Michelle Tumolo said of whether SU’s in-conference mark is cause for concern.

On Saturday, Treanor and the Orange made a statement. Louisville draw specialist Kaylin Morissette led the nation in draw controls coming into the game, yet SU won 16 draws, losing just 9.

Syracuse (14-4, 5-2 ACC) starts ACC Tournament play on Thursday and it’s the first time it’s playing an opponent twice. Treanor will face players who already neutralized her in the draw circle once before. For Syracuse to have success against Boston College (10-7, 2-5), a team that beat SU, 13-8, this year, and won the draw battle, 13-10, Treanor and SU will have to earn more possessions.

“I think Kayla’s dialed in, she’s got it covered,” Tumolo continued. “I think we’re hitting better competition, and they have a lot of legit draw people on these teams.”

Treanor is skilled enough in the draw circle to employ different tactics, whether it’s flicking the ball up high to herself, or aiming it at a specific teammate or area. The SU senior and head coach Gary Gait said that the reason other teams have had some more success on the draw is because their draw specialists try to pull the ball toward players on the outside to make it a groundball scramble.

Tumolo said that if SU knows that the opponent’s draw specialist pulls the ball away from Treanor, it reacts by placing extra players in those areas. If Treanor can’t win the draw herself, SU relies on its outside players to scoop up the groundballs. Facing teams’ draw specialists for the second time gives Syracuse the advantage, Gait said.

“The great thing about it is now we’ll have film on every opponent that we’ve played and we can make adjustments,” Gait said. “And that’s a good thing to have.”

Taking the draw requires additional preparation before the game, Treanor said, and while most in-game play is natural instincts, the draw requires rigorously honed techniques. Treanor said she suffered from tendinitis in her wrists at the start of the season because she practiced the draw so much.

Now, the pain in her wrists has subdued. And with the postseason coming up, she has no plans on asking for a break from her draw duties. Gait wants his best player at the draw circle with the game on the line, and Treanor wants to be there, too.

“When the game gets down to the wire it comes down to who can get control of the draw,” Treanor said. “You feel that pressure a lot, it’s definitely an added pressure, but it’s nice to have control over that.”

Published on April 27, 2016 at 10:22 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer