Surprise Delivery: Jones' Resiliency Pays Off
2/12/2008 4:18:52 PM | Tennis
By Ben Weiss
As a walk-on freshman in 2007, Chelsea Jones was playing team tennis for the first time in a year-and-a-half. She received valuable experience in her first season, competing in 42 matches, but decided to leave the team after the spring campaign. It didn’t take long for Jones to realize what she had given up.
“I thought about it and I said to myself, ‘I love tennis,’” Jones said. “Since I was young, I’ve wanted to be a professional tennis player and I felt like I was missing out on an opportunity that would never come again.”
Jones returned to the Orange squad this past fall, again, as a non-scholarship player. Jones’ year of experience is a valuable asset to this Syracuse team, whose roster of seven includes four freshmen. But that’s not why head coach Luke Jensen was so excited to have her back.
“She has a very explosive game,” Jensen said of Jones. “With our style and our system, we’re all about going right after your opponent. She fits right in.”
Jones agrees with Jensen that her style of play can be described as aggressive.
“A little too aggressive sometimes,” Jones admits.
Jones believes that too often she tries to hit winners, instead of rallying and waiting for her opportunities – something that she has been working on with the coaching staff. By doing this, she hopes to achieve a higher level of consistency to her play. This season, Jones has benefitted from being able to fine tune specific areas of her game, and pay much less attention to adapting to playing at the college level.
Prior to the start of the fall season, Jensen observed a different demeanor about the west coast native as she returned for her second season. He sensed a focus and level of determination that far exceeded what he had seen from her as a rookie.
Over SU’s winter break, in between the fall and spring tennis season, Jensen informed Jones that she should expect a package on Christmas Eve. Unbeknownst to Jones, the package contained a team poster, with an arrow pointing from Jones to the words “this is the newest addition to our scholarship-athlete team.” Unfortunately, the package never arrived, so Jensen broke the news to Jones over the phone.
“I was silent for a bit, and then I just started screaming,” she said. “It was a great Christmas present.”
Jones’ rapid improvement has helped her prove that she is deserving of such a present, and her solid 9-5 start to the 2008 spring campaign certainly supports that same notion. And Jensen couldn’t be more impressed.
“She’s constantly proving to the coaching staff that she belongs on this team,” Jensen said, “and she’s looking to play high on the lineup.”
