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dailyorange.com @dailyorange february 12, 2014 • PAG E 20
men’s lacrosse
Syracuse starts year strong at X By Phil D’Abbraccio asst. copy editor
RAKEEM CHRISTMAS will need to stay out of foul trouble if senior Baye Moussa Keita’s sprained right knee keeps him on the sideline of SU’s matchup at Pittsburgh on Wednesday. With DaJuan Coleman out, Christmas is the only healthy big man Syracuse has. sam maller photo editor
front and center
Christmas, Grant face stout test vs. No. 25 Pitt if Keita can’t play
By Stephen Bailey sports editor
F
or the first time this year, Rakeem Christmas will take the floor with likely no backup center on Wednesday — and for Syracuse, it couldn’t come at a worse time. The Orange travels to a jampacked Petersen Events Center, where it is 1-6 all time. It will face a head coach with a 10-5 record against Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone and a Pittsburgh team seeking to avenge a game it had nearly wrapped up in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 18. For No. 1 Syracuse (23-0, 10-0 Atlantic Coast), the 25th-ranked Panthers (20-4, 8-3) may be the perfect storm to end the Orange’s undefeated season and deny it the longest winning streak in program
history. “Having just one center is going to make our job much harder,” SU forward C.J. Fair said. “It puts a little more pressure on Rakeem to play honest defense.” With senior center Baye Moussa Keita unable to practice after spraining his right knee against Clemson on Sunday, the Orange will lean on 210-pound forward Jerami Grant to help man the middle of its zone in its staunchest road test of the season so far. Grant held his own against the Tigers, but a Talib Zanna-led frontcourt presents a far bigger problem. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound center gave the Orange frontcourt fits in the first matchup as Christmas (4), Fair (3) and Grant (3) all worked through foul trouble.
see pittsburgh page 17
Each time Chris Daddio set out for practice in the offseason, the bitter end to last season was on his mind. So too was the backlash from Syracuse fans, serving as a reminder to why Duke was crowned national champions and the Orange wasn’t. “I’ve seen the articles. I’ve seen all the comments. I’ve heard it all,” Daddio said. “I had some trouble. I had some success, but it was a little bit too inconsistent. After the way last year ended, that one really hit me harder than it ever has. “I wanted to make sure I did everything I could.” After a 9-for-30 performance at the faceoff X to end last year, the Orange’s faceoff specialists now come into this season with a chip on their shoulder. For the third straight year, Daddio is the first option for
Me, Mike, no matter who’s out there, we’ve just got to make sure we keep it going and get better and better. Chris Daddio su faceoff specialist
Syracuse at the X to start the year, followed by junior college transfer Mike Iacono. If Monday night’s season-opening blowout win over Siena was any hint, No. 2 Syracuse (1-0) might be in line for some better fortune. The Orange controlled 12-of-18 faceoffs in the first half behind strong performances by Daddio and Iacono, and see faceoffs page 16
tennis
Junior Rodgers leads Orange into Atlantic Coast Conference By Ryan Raigrodski staff writer
As tennis legend Andre Agassi slammed winner after winner inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, a 10-year-old girl sat in awe as she realized this was
Olympic Sports season previews part 1 of 4
the sport of her dreams. Now an adult, junior Syracuse
tennis player Amanda Rodgers has started to reach those goals that she set in the fifth grade. She was 18-2 her freshman year in singles and was named to the All-Big East team. Now, she’s poised to lead the Orange in its first season in a tougher Atlantic
Coast Conference. “I watched Agassi play on the stadium and I was just like, ‘This is what I want to be,’” Rodgers said. “‘This is what I want to do when I grow up.’ From then on, I’ve focused on tennis.” Rodgers was destined to be an
athlete. Her mother Mary Pat Guest competed in the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, as a skier, her father Tom Rodgers played quarterback for Connecticut and even her uncle, Mary Pat’s brother, competed see rodgers page 13