Call off the search party. Roll out the red carpet.

The future of Syracuse tennis is here.

Kristine Bech Holte — a freshman from Oslo, Norway — won all four of her matches over the weekend and aided the Orangewomen (3-0, 2-0 Big East) in 5-2 victories over Temple and Rutgers.

The first-year player has won all six of her dual matches this season and compiled a 21-8 record.

Holte teamed with Jessica Schlosser in No. 2 doubles to win the doubles point after the teams split the first two matches. They beat the Owl’s Nina Kumar and Lauren Verrall, 8-5.

‘They really set the tone for the match,’ Syracuse head coach Mac Gifford said. ‘It takes some of the pressure off, and then the girls can just go out and play.’

In singles play, Holte experienced a greater challenge. After winning the first set against Temple’s Nina Kumar, 6-3, Holte went down, 1-4, in the second set. Kumar seemed to have all the momentum after she sent Holte lunging for a service ace down the left side. Holte waved her racquet in frustration and seemed to lose her composure.

‘I just felt like I lost my focus after the first set,’ she said.

But Holte regained her concentration and rallied to win the set, 7-5.

‘Many freshmen wouldn’t have been able to rally like that,’ Gifford said. ‘It’s really saying something about her ability to play the game.’

The rest of the Orangewomen proved equally resilient, working around losses in No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Temple’s duo of Danira Penic and Lara Ercegovic has been ranked as high as No. 8 and No. 11, respectively, in ITA Eastern Regional rankings.

The Orangewomen countered both with solid efforts from the bottom of their lineup.

Marion Charlier continued to play well in No. 6 singles, winning in straight sets over Elisa Jimenez.

‘Whether you’re in No. 1 singles or No. 6 singles, you still get one point,’ Gifford said. ‘She’s proven to me all throughout the season that she’s a reliable singles player.’

With six spots available down the road in the Big East Championship and Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami near locks, three spots are there for the taking for five teams — Seton Hall, Boston College, Connecticut, Rutgers and Syracuse.

The Orangewomen opened Big East play by defeating Rutgers on Saturday. Shervin Saedinia led the way, defeating Andrea Weckstein in straight sets in No. 3 singles. She also teamed up with Masha Kabanova in doubles to defeat Carissa Sommerlad and Amanda Travlos, 5-2.

The Orangewomen continue league play Friday at Boston College at 3 p.m.

‘I just want to take it one game at a time,’ Saedinia said. ‘We don’t just want to make it to the Big East tournament this year, we want to perform very well.’

Published on February 10, 2002 at 12:00 pm