Tennis coach Mac Gifford waited outside of Kimmel Food Court at 6 a.m. on one recent morning, trying to find National Public Radio before driving freshman Kristine Holte to practice.

As Holte climbed into Gifford’s van, the dreary Syracuse weather report of rain and gray skies reverberated in the background.

‘What’s the weather like in Norway?’ Gifford asked.

What started as a casual question ended in a discussion about the Norwegian tax system and ski jumping, a popular sport in Europe.

‘Most kids when they climb in the van at the crack of dawn would like to sleep, but not her,’ Gifford said. ‘I know a lot about that culture now, I’m fascinated by that stuff.’

The rest of the team shared Gifford’s interest when they heard Holte talking on the phone with her relatives. Holte taught some Norwegian phrases to a few girls on the team and soon enough, teammates spoke basic Norwegian.

Norwegian has strong roots in the German subfamily of languages, and approximately five million Europeans speak it. Because of its German heritage, Americans normally have a thick accent while attempting to speak in Norwegian.

Sophomore Zani Suttle has been one of Holte’s students and has picked up several phrases.

‘ ’Hva skjer a? (pronounced va-cher-a)’, that means ‘what’s up?” Suttle said. “We all joke around a lot because we speak Norwegian with American accents.’

But the accent hasn’t stopped Suttle and other teammates from yelling words of encouragement in Norwegian during Holte’s matches. The encouragement seems to work. Holte (25-16) leads Syracuse in wins.

‘It’s funny and it helps relax me when I’m playing,’ Holte said.

Despite the variety of cultures and languages among SU’s 12 players, team chemistry has not been a problem. The Orangewomen (5-9, 4-1 Big East) have also welcomed foreigners Masha Kabanova (Moscow), Daniela Kaluskova (Prague) and Marion Charlier (Rabat, Morocco) with interest and respect.

‘They like talking and learning about other cultures,’ Gifford said. ‘Foreign cultures only make teammates more interested. I’ve never been on a team where everyone is so close.’

Chemistry has been important because SU is mired in a six-match losing streak. The Orangewomen, whose postseason hopes ride on this weekend’s results, travel to Morgantown, W.Va. to play West Virginia tomorrow at 1 p.m. The following day, Syracuse faces Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

“I’ve seen some gutsy performances, improvement and enthusiasm after tough matches,” assistant coach Marni Nordstrom said. “These are matches this team is getting up for.”

Published on March 27, 2002 at 12:00 pm