About a week before winter break, the women’s tennis team recruited current N.C. State sophomore Jackie Ussery to be the newest member of the team. Kristen Bleakley, who played on the team last year, transferred schools, and the Wolfpack was left with a spot open going into the spring season and decided to recruit in-house.
“When we had a spot that we needed to fill, we thought Jackie would be a great option,” coach Hans Olsen said. “Our club team is one of the best in the country, so we’ve known about Jackie for a while.”
Jeff Kader, the men’s tennis team’s assistant coach, worked at Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, S.C. during the time Ussery trained there.
Michael Woodson, the women’s tennis team’s manager, also helped in recruiting Ussery. Woodson helps organize a lot with the club team and would often play with Ussery.
“We learned a lot from Michael [Woodson] about Jackie,” Olsen said. “I would love for our team to receive the benefits from our club team in the future.”
Moving from the club level to playing at the division I college level is a huge step up, yet according to Ussery, she tries not to think about it to much.
“It still doesn’t feel real to me,” Ussery said. “I really don’t think about how I’m now on the tennis team, because if I did think about it I think I would be more nervous and there would be more pressure on me.”
Ussery is from Hilton Head, S.C. and has trained at the Smith Sterns Tennis Academy four years prior to coming to State. She said she has always thought about being able to play tennis at the college level but never though it was within reach.
“I actually looked at smaller schools to play for, but I decided I wanted to come to a major university,” Ussery said. “I knew [N.C. State] was where I wanted to go, but I never thought it was an option to play tennis.”
Adjusting to the fact she is now a varsity athlete has proven to be a worthwhile challenge, according to Ussery.
“It’s been challenging for me to just juggle the time I spend with the friends I’ve already made, getting used to the practice hours, and juggling time with the girls on the team,” Ussery said. “I’ve had [my schedule] planned out for pretty much every second of the day. But it’s been helping me focus on school.”
Playing at this level, Ussery noted the way practice is run is very different from any of her previous training.
“I love the way practices are run,” Ussery said. “They are the best run and most productive practices than anything I’ve ever done. In two days [Olsen] helped me fix something that my old coach of four years could never fix.”
Ussery has really been improving and jumping levels each week according to Olsen.
“She is a very talented tennis player,” Olsen said. “I think that within three weeks she’s really responding very well. She is very smart on the court with very good instincts. She’s like a sponge just absorbing everything.”
Coming up from playing for recreational purposes to playing competitively at the division I level, Ussery surprisingly is right on point Olsen said.
“I don’t think that she’s behind at all,” Olsen said. “But anytime someone is in their first semester of college tennis, they just need experience in match situations. Each match that she plays she’s gaining more and more — that’s where she will catch up the most.”
Ussery already has had the opportunity to play in three matches for the Wolfpack competition in the No. 6 singles position, yet hasn’t been able to secure a win.
According to Olsen, Ussery will compete in more matches in the future.
“We are really building her game and her role on the team for years and years,” Olsen said. “I think that she has a very high ceiling because she’s a good athlete and she’s got good technique. She doesn’t really have any limitations.”
