After No. 27 Syracuse’s final home match this season, Sofya Golubovskaya walked off the court with tears in her eyes. She cried neither because it was Senior Day for her doubles partner nor because her first collegiate season was almost over.

She cried because she had a bad match.

In a day filled with emotions, SU’s only freshman was frustrated with herself after her match went unfinished at 4-6, 6-2, 1-4. She walked off the courts at Drumlins Country Club and declined to talk to the media.

But almost instantly, her teammates were there to comfort her.

“I’ve had a lot of struggles this year,” Golubovskaya said, “but now I have a team to help me, and I love it.”

Golubovskaya, a native of Moscow, came to Syracuse for the first time on Jan. 10. In more than three months, she has dealt with a multitude of adjustments. One of her biggest culture shocks was being a part of a team rather than playing as an individual, Golubovskaya said. It was new to her. A team, an aspect of tennis she once questioned, has driven her to improve her game as a regular at third singles for the Orange.

For all of her life before arriving at SU, Golubovskaya competed alone in tournaments in Russia and Europe. Playing on a team was a concept she didn’t understand.

“Tennis (is) not a team sport,” Golubovskaya said. “It was really new for me. I wasn’t ready at first.”

A couple of weeks into Golubovskaya’s transition, junior Gabriela Knutson said the freshman was hesitant to bond with her new team. During team practices, SU works on cheering for teammates at matches, mostly during changeovers and in between points. That was something Golubovskaya had to get used to.

“The first day here she didn’t cheer (with us) at all,” Knutson said. “It was like she didn’t understand what was going on.”

One thing that helped her was that three of her seven teammates speak Russian. Anna Shkudun, Golubovskaya’s doubles partner, and Libi Mesh speak Russian, and Maria Tritou can hold a conversation in Russian from time to time, Golubovskaya said. Interactions with them helped Golubovskaya forget about the language barriers in her new life.

To ease Golubovskaya’s adjustment, SU head coach Younes Limam wanted to mimic some of the tactics he used with then-freshman Miranda Ramirez last season. Limam set up biweekly meetings with Golubovskaya and associate head coach Shelley George.

The meetings focused on her biggest challenges. Of the wide range of acclimations, Limam pointed toward understanding her coaches, teammates and professors as some of the toughest. At times, Golubovskaya sought advice during those encounters, while other times she asked for favors such as getting a ride to the mall, she said.

Most of the season, Golubovskaya played third singles behind Knutson and Ramirez. During a pivotal three-match stretch against ranked teams, Golubovskaya won three-straight matches against then-No. 44 Clemson, then-No. 16 Wake Forest and then-No. 48 Louisville.

This is the first season Golubovskaya has worried about playing teams and not just individuals. She used to only rely on herself to reach her goals. Now, Golubovskaya has seven other players on her side.

“All my life I was just taking care of myself and nobody else,” Golubovskaya said, “Now that I’m here, I see that my teammates can help me in life.”

Published on April 30, 2018 at 10:58 pm

Contact KJ: kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman