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ASU tennis's Kassidy Jump jumps in success

Sophomore Kassidy Jump awaits the serve from UC Davis player Lani-Rae Green on Saturday Jan. 15, 2015, at Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. Jump won the match 6-2, 6-2.

Sophomore Kassidy Jump awaits the serve from UC Davis player Lani-Rae Green on Saturday Jan. 15, 2015, at Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. Jump won the match 6-2, 6-2.


Sophomore Kassidy Jump awaits the serve from UC Davis player Lani-Rae Green on Saturday Jan. 15, 2015, at Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. Jump won the match 6-2, 6-2. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press) Sophomore Kassidy Jump awaits the serve from UC Davis player Lani-Rae Green on Saturday Jan. 15, 2015, at Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. Jump won the match 6-2, 6-2. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press)

After closing a solid freshman campaign during which she finished 17-14 in singles and 16-10 doubles play, sophomore Kassidy Jump has displayed a steady growth to this point in the season.

The Granite Bay, California, native has quickly established herself as one of the key components on the team well into what is only her second year, and credits her success to the atmosphere within the locker room and on the court.

“The team atmosphere makes us all really close and that helps," Jump said.

"How the courts are set up, you’re playing in-between your teammates and I think being able to play next to them really helps encourage you along the way. Like when you start to get down on yourself, they’re right there to say ‘Come on, you got it!’ and they’re always there to pump you up when you’re down. And it's the same with me. I’m always there if I see one of them down to say, ‘It’s okay. you’ve got it.’

"I feel like we always have each other’s backs."

That camaraderie is echoed and exhibited by the play of the team, particularly Jump's.

During her freshman year, she played very well as the partner of now-junior Desirae Krawczyk as the two finished with a 9-1 record—the team-best for any doubles pairing last season. Similarly, this season Jump has found success in doubles play, noticeably enjoying success partnered with senior Joanna Smith.

"Chemistry (has been the key to our success)," Jump said. "Both with (senior) Joanna (Smith) and Desirae, we have such great chemistry. We keep each other up and not let each other get down. We kind of learn to just not be down on ourselves."

Smith and Jump are 3-0 as a pair to this point in the dual-match season.

"With Jo and I, it’s all about the energy," Jump said. "If we can bring the energy every single time, nobody can beat us."

However, Jump's success hasn't been limited to solely doubles play. In fact, she was recruited as the No. 1 singles player out of Northern California, and surged from beginning her freshman year as the team's No. 5 singles player to solidifying herself as the No. 3 singles player by the end of it.

Despite the success, she admits that the transition from high school-level game to college-level game has taken some time to adjust to.

"In the juniors, I had a very hard, flat game and coming to college that was the first thing I realized: people were handling my ball. I didn’t like that, and I wasn’t used to it. So I really had to gain more experience in other areas of my game, whether that meant moving the ball more, or (using) different heights of the ball, or moving them differently. What they’re teaching me now is to come to the net more often to finish points off with my big ball. I feel like that will help my game and experience go even further."

Through the team's first three games of the dual-match season, Jump has won all three of her singles bouts. Last weekend, she cinched the team's lone win during the singles session against No. 44 Kentucky.

Jump credited her ability to drive the ball well as the reason for win.

"When we were in Chicago, it definitely came in handy with the girl I played from Kentucky, because with anything else I tried, she’d rip winners on me. I basically beat her because I could handle her ball and I could get it right back to her."

She acknowledged her tendency to rely on her flat ball as something she'll have to eventually grow out of in order for her game to fully develop.

"It does come in handy, but it’s also a weakness of mine because it’s not gonna work every time, and I have to get out that. It’s nice to have, but I have to learn to go a different way and really work the points. It’s not always about getting the winner on the first shot."

Head coach Sheila McInerney discussed Jump's progression during her time as a member of the squad.

"She loves game day," McInerney said. "She’s one of those kids who’d rather play a match than practice, which is good and bad, actually. But, you want them to love the battle, and she absolutely does.

"I think her big thing now is she’s moving forward and coming to the net more, and improved that. She’s gotta improve her serve in order for her to take it up another level. That’s still an area that’s gotten better from last year, but it’s still probably her weakness and in playing against better and better competition it’s going to show a little bit... But she’s certainly made some improvements and she likes to play for sure. She loves the matches."

Jump explained that like her coach, she holds her game to a high standard.

"I hold my expectations pretty high," Jump said. "If I lose or I’m not playing well I get frustrated with myself. I know my capabilities. I know that I can play high on the roster and I believe I eventually could play No. 1.

"I think that I definitely need to improve in some areas. My serve needs to improve and my net game, and I think that if I could improve those two things and be more consistent, I’d be pretty set."

Jump's role will certainly prove integral to the Sun Devils future success.

The sophomore presents a strong and determined mindset that can propel her to reaching the high expectations that she has set for herself, which is certainly a mindset that the team as a whole prides itself on and has manufactured to its squad.

 

Reach the reporter at kajone31@asu.edu or follow @kaelenjones on Twitter.

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