TicketsApril 7, 2009
By MARK SCHMETZER
University of Cincinnati tennis coach Angela Wilson has seen Jenny Rowen's confidence grow on the court just in the past few months.
Rowen hopes it grows off the court just as quickly.
The Bearcat senior is on track to graduate with a bachelor's degree in marketing in December. She hopes she's ready to leave by then.
"I'm trying to get an internship," she said. "I'd like to go into that field. I'm not set on one thing. I'm definitely keeping my options open. It's been fun here. It's kind of sad that four years have gone by so fast. I'm not ready for the real world."
If she handles leaving UC as well as she handled arriving, she should be just fine. Even by the time she enrolled, Rowen had become experienced at adapting to new environments. She had spent the previous two years at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas -- located northeast of San Antonio and a significant distance from her family's home in Little Rock, Ark.
"That helped me tremendously," said Rowen, who was born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, and moved with her family to Arkansas when she was seven years old. "When I got to the university, I knew what needed to be done. I knew what it was like to live on my own. It helped me adapt to the whole college setting. The only difference was, at the tennis academy, there were more boundaries to be followed -- like curfews. Here, I was able to set my own boundaries, but I think being at the academy helped me adjust to being here a lot quicker. I would do it again. I think it helped open more doors."
She credits coaches at the Newcombe facility with helping get her to Cincinnati. Four years later, she knows she made the right choice.
"I have no regrets," the 21-year-old said. "Sometimes it's a little cold, but being born in Canada, I should be used to that. I have loved being part of things here. I have loved my four years here. I've loved being part of the BIG EAST. That was another huge part of the decision-making process about going here. I'd heard such good things about the conference, and the competition has been so much fun. When we played Rutgers, it came down to the very last match. That kind of competition is what I wanted, and I got it."
Rowen has been playing No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles with classmate Liz Young, and Wilson is happy to see the dramatic improvement displayed by Rowen since the fall.
"She's been playing higher during the spring season than she did in the fall," the first-year coach said. "She struggled getting into it in the fall -- maybe because of the uncertainty with the new coaching staff -- but she really responded to the positive approach we're trying to bring to the team and the program.
"She worked really hard on her game during the break and the Christmas vacation, and you could tell. She struggled in the past with confidence issues, but she's come into her own. She's going after the ball like she's a player who's supposed to win. She had struggled in some matches where she'd be up but left the door open a little bit and let the other players come back. That hasn't been happening lately. "Jenny has really responded. Her attitude's been great. It's so much better, much more positive. She's been working hard in practice and in the conditioning room. She's stronger.
"What we said to the girls in our first meeting was we really hope that, after they're done with their last year, they can look back and find that a lot of positives came out of it. This was their last chance as student-athletes, so let's end on a positive note. Jenny and Liz and (senior Valeriya Dandik) all have responded. All kinds of things were new, and they all responded. That's big, because as seniors, they're very important to the team."
Rowen seems most likely to have positive memories of her UC experience, many of them stemming from being part of a team.
"As much as tennis is an individual sport, it's still a team sport in college, and knowing you have the other girls on the sideline cheering for you helps so much," Rowen said. "It's so much different than other sports. There's still a team aspect you don't see in junior tennis.
"I've learned lot in my four years, especially in the past year."
(This story was previously printed in the Bearcat Sports Digest.)