HAWAII GROWN REPORT
COURTESY OF WELLESLEY
Former Seabury Hall tennis standout Jenna Mezin compiled a 20-4 singles record for Division III Wellesley this season. She'll compete in the D-III championships, May 20-22 in California.
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Quite a racket
Maui's Mezin is a top Division III tennis player for Wellesley
JENNA Mezin will gladly make a stop next week on the West Coast on her way home to Haiku, Maui.
The sophomore at Wellesley (Mass.) College was selected to participate in the individual NCAA Division III tennis championships at UC Santa Cruz, May 20-22.
For the record
Seabury Hall alumna Jenna Mezin's record at Wellesley College:
2004-05
» Singles: 8-5. Doubles: 11-5
2005-06
» Singles: 20-4. Doubles: 15-4
overall
» Singles: 28-9. Doubles: 26-9
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The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Year, she compiled a 20-4 singles record in the 2005-06 season.
It will be a busy three days for Mezin. She and doubles partner Hali Walther take their 15-5 record to the tournament.
Last year the pair competed in the national tournament at Kalamazoo, Mich., and lost in the first round to the eventual champions.
Mezin reached the round of 16 in singles a year ago before losing to nationally ranked Jen Luten of Tufts University.
Mezin's passion for tennis began when she was 8 and watched her brother Matthew hitting balls.
"I decided I wanted to play, too. I started enjoying it and started playing more and more. My mom, Joanne, played and she helped me a lot," said Mezin, who was the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year last year.
She played four years at Seabury Hall and finished fourth in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament her senior year.
The summer before her senior year, Mezin played in the National Junior Federation Cup in California. That is where Wellesley coach Christine Franek liked what she saw of Mezin on the court.
"I found out she was from a strong school academically. I have to find student-athletes who will fit our school," Franek said.
"I saw her play singles and doubles and that, for me, was an important balance. A lot of singles players are not good doubles players. Doubles is so important in college as far as team scoring is concerned, so it helps to get a player with that experience."
Franek also was impressed with the manner in which Mezin dealt with her emotions during a match.
"Jenna's attitude was very good on the court. She didn't act out and that is a good sign of a tough player," Franek said.
Mezin remembers the tournament being a big thing because a lot of the girls were looking for colleges to attend. She was previously interested in the Claremont schools and Santa Clara.
"It was between Santa Clara and Wellesley. I chose Wellesley because I wanted a different experience on the East Coast and because of the academics," Mezin said.
"Attending a women's college is not a big thing because there are so many colleges in this area. It is a different college experience, but there are a lot of positive aspects.
"In the classroom it is all women and you feel very comfortable. Men can be very dominant in their opinions. The Wellesley campus is very, very safe. It's a very studious atmosphere and you can really focus."
Mezin has won the team-ladder tournament each fall and played No. 1 singles for two seasons.
"I trained a lot last summer because it can go either way. I knew I had to be prepared," she said.
"At the same time I really enjoy the challenge of the matches I get to play. I get to play a lot of tough matches and that is very rewarding. I've gotten to the point where I don't feel the pressure, but focus on going out and playing well."
She and Walther also have had a lock on the No. 1 doubles position for two seasons.
They were instrumental in leading Wellesley to a 20-3 record this year. The Blue received an invitation to the NCAA Division III team tournament, but were ousted in the first round of the regional by Middlebury, 5-0.
Mezin is majoring in psychology and religion. Her career goal is to become a child psychologist.
First-year student Katelyn Ching (Honolulu Waldorf School '05) is also on the Wellesley tennis team. She was 3-3 playing No. 6 singles and 7-3 in the No. 3 doubles slot this year.
"Katelyn has deceived a lot of players and has the potential to be an effective player for us. She has a good base to build on," said Franek.
In other tennis news:
» Jessica Nagasako (Lahainaluna), a sophomore, won her singles match and teamed with Allison Laygo in a doubles triumph as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas defeated Redlands 6-2 last Saturday to advance to the NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinal round, which starts May 17 at UC Santa Cruz.
Nagasako is 13-6 in singles and 16-4 in doubles this year.
The Athenas won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with an 11-0 record. They are 18-3 overall.
» Heidi Kaloi (Kamehameha), a freshman at UC Irvine, was 15-7 in singles and 11-9 in doubles this year for the Anteaters. Sophomore Jessica Broadfoot (Punahou) compiled a 5-7 record in singles and was 1-2 in doubles for UCI.
» Kellie Crail (Iolani '03) was 9-17 in singles matches for Northern Colorado. She had a 2-2 singles record in the NCAA Division I independent tennis championship, helping the Bears to a runner-up finish.
Northern Colorado completes its move to Division I this fall when it joins the Big Sky Conference.
The graduate-assistant women's coach is Jan Ikeda (Baldwin), who earned her degree in marketing from Northern Colorado in 2004. She was 67-41 as the No. 1 singles player for the Bears for four seasons.
Gerome Gregory (Roosevelt '02) played just three matches in the No. 6 position for the men's team and lost all three.
» Rebecca Nations, who is from Kailua and was home-schooled, posted a 7-15 singles record for the Biola (Calif.) Eagles. The senior plans to be a professional photographer.
» Jenna Umeno, a senior from Baldwin at Redlands, posted a 13-7 record in singles in her final season for the Bulldogs.