In August 2017, Syracuse tennis coach Younes Limam travelled to Savitaipale, Finland to watch Sofya Golubovskaya play. He wanted to go see her in person, instead of just talking over the phone and Skype.

The 17-year-old Russian lost in both her singles and doubles quarterfinals matches, but it was the first time she met her future collegiate coach.

Limam was aware of Golubovskaya’s success in overseas tournaments, and knew that the Russian was considering transitioning to a pro-career. But, after months of recruiting, on Jan. 10 2018, Golubovskaya arrived in Syracuse. The transition to the United States wasn’t easy, the Moscow native had to balance classes, tennis and adjusting to a foreign language. But, on the court, the shift was seamless.

“I think it’s a good opportunity here to get an education and also play tennis,” Golubovskaya said. “In Russia you don’t have those opportunities.”

Golubovskaya grew up competing on hard and clay courts in Moscow, and her general feel for the game and devastating backhand game translated to the hard courts of Drumlins Country Club, Limam said.

During a nearly month-long stretch in her freshman year, from Feb. 9 to March 2, Golubovskaya went undefeated in singles, securing six straight wins. She also went on a six-game win streak from Feb. 16 to Mar. 16 with her doubles partner Anna Shkudun, marking a stretch of dominance just over a month after arriving in the U.S. She was the only freshman on the team, but she finished the season 12-8 in singles, 14-6 in doubles and won 65% of her matches overall.

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On April 1, 2018 then-No. 34 Orange defeated then-No. 3 Georgia Tech. It was the first time in program history Syracuse defeated a top-10 opponent. At second singles, Golubovskaya recovered from a 4-2 deficit in the second set to force a tiebreak. She eventually fell just short, losing 6-4 7-6 (7-5). She lost, but the team prevailed and it was her favorite on-court moment during her Syracuse career thus far. It was that mindset that has seen a freshman who looked to teammates and relied on coaches now transition into a commanding leader herself, Limam said.

Golubovskaya’s first opportunity to lead came when her former teammate and childhood friend Sonya Treshcheva came to Syracuse as well, largely on the recommendation from Golubovskaya.

“She already knew how it worked here and everything was new for me like the classes, the language, and the people, so she helped me a lot,” said Treshcheva.

Like Golubovskaya’s immediate freshman success, the Treshcheva reunion quickly paid off. As a doubles pair, the Russians took home the title at the ITA Northeast Regional Championship in the fall of 2018.

Now as an upperclassman, with experience in two NCAA tournaments, Golubovskaya understands what it takes to succeed and mentors more than Treshcheva, Limam said. She’s embraced Syracuse’s approach — prioritizes the team over herself and cares about her teammates both on and off the court, he said.

“I think a big part of the reason we are where we are right now is because of her. She’s a huge contributor on the court and now she’s taking on a leadership role,” Limam said.

Her personality makes it easy to connect with her teammates, described as a joke by her coach, she always makes her teammates laugh on road trips and team dinners.

“She could be a pretty good comedian, too,” Limam said, holding back laughs of his own.

As she’s grown as a leader, Golubovskaya continues to make strides on the court. She was a bright spot for Syracuse last season in the ACC and NCAA tournament. Golubovskaya took home an all-important singles victory in a first-round conference tournament matchup against Georgia Tech, proving vital in what ended up being a 4-3 Syracuse win. Less than a month later, in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Golubovskaya and Treshcheva ousted Wisconsin’s pair in a 6-1 win.

When Golubovskaya arrived in 2018, the Syracuse’s women’s tennis program had never been in the top-10. They had never even defeated a top 10-opponent and had made the NCAA tournament just once. But now, with Golubovskaya as a mainstay in singles, doubles and a leadership role, Syracuse’s expectations have risen.

“Her coming in three years ago, I think we started seeing the program taken to the next level, becoming year in and year out part of the NCAA tournament, and a big part of it,” Limam said.

Published on February 2, 2020 at 10:26 pm

Contact Cameron: cbmckeon@syr.edu