On Friday morning, senior Kasia Jakowlew made a commitment to herself for her last match at Robson Tennis Center: She would “”come out and give it (her) all.””
Jakowlew stayed true to her promise and came away with two wins to help Arizona to a 6-1 win over Oregon later that day.
In her first match of the day, Jakowlew teamed with fellow senior Jessie Rochefort at the No. 2 doubles spot. Partners for much of last season, they came back from being down 4-1 to defeat Oregon’s Dominika Dieskova and Ana Cecilia Olivos, 8-5.
“”We hadn’t played together in a year, but I had such a good time with her,”” Jakowlew said. “”Especially since it was Senior Day and we pulled out that win, it was so big for us.””
With one player injured and a thin roster to begin with, Oregon (12-10, 0-7 Pacific 10 Conference) had only five healthy players available. The Ducks were forced to default at the No. 3 doubles spot and the No. 6 singles position.
“”We had a couple girls leave the team at the beginning of the year, so we were down to six,”” said Oregon head coach Paul Reber. “”Then, a couple of weeks ago, we had a girl sprain her ankle, so we’re down to five right now.””
With the seniors’ win, as well as Oregon’s forfeit in the No. 6 singles spot, the Wildcats (9-12, 3-4) gained an early 2-0 advantage.
Possibly the most important aspect of the match was winning the doubles point. Arizona is 9-1 when taking the doubles point and 0-11 when its opponent takes it. Arizona went on to win four of the five singles matches after taking the advantage in doubles.
“”It’s easy to lose your focus sometimes when you’re already up, and it’s easy to relax,”” Jakowlew said. “”But we all came out fired up, that was so good. I’m so proud of all the girls. It was such a good win.””
“”It’s easy to lose your focus sometimes when you’re already up, and it’s easy to relax. But we all came out fired up, that was so good. I’m so proud of all the girls, it was such a good win.””
– Kasia Jakowlew,
women’s tennis senior
Fittingly for Senior Day, Jakowlew was the last one remaining on the court as she battled with Olivos at the No. 3 singles position. With the team match already decided, Jakowlew and Olivos, who split sets, went into a 10-point super tiebreaker.
After losing the second set, Jakowlew said she reminded herself of the promise she made that morning.
“”I have to say I was a little nervous in the end. It got a little bit shaky,”” Jakowlew said. “”But I started thinking about what I committed to myself (Friday) morning and that I had to go all out, because there was no way I could be passive and be fine with that afterward.””
She stayed true to her word and edged Olivos in the tiebreaker 10-8 to end her time at Robson with a win.
Afterward, UA assistant coach Brian Ramirez said he “”couldn’t be more thrilled”” with the performances of Jakowlew and Rochefort.
“”That was as good a win as I’ve seen Kasia have, and Jessie has just been amazing,”” Ramirez said. “”For them to come out (Friday) when we really needed both of them to do a good job, and to get a win after being behind 4-1, I can’t say enough.
“”It was just an outstanding job.””