Pay attention, tennis buffs, it looks like there’s another Serena Williams on the rise, and she’s from right here in Westchester County!
Ossining native Jamie Loeb, a freshman at the University of North Carolina, recently became the first freshman since 2004 to win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women’s All-American Championship. As a result, she will be hitting the turf at this year’s USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship in hopes of replicating her previous performance.
To seize her recent championship, Loeb served her way through three matches in a pre-qualifying draw and through three matches in the qualifying draw, which landed her in the main draw. Once there, Loeb won all five matches in straight sets. Remarkably, she only lost one set in all 11 matches, not to mention she knocked off a top-seeded UCLA Bruins along the way.
Even more impressive, Loeb has figured out how to manage a college education while practicing and playing her favorite sport (and hopeful future career) at least five days a week.
“School work and being a part of the team is a challenge but I think I’m handling it pretty well on and off court,” Loeb humbly admits.
And now she’s one of the nation’s 32 best college players; she’s part of the draw in this year’s National Indoor ITA Championships. She’s also only 18.
“I’ve been playing since I was three,” Loeb said. “I played on the Ossining High School team for two years and won the state title.”
She may be new to UNC, but she is most certainly not new to the game of tennis; Loeb’s a clear-cut force to be reckoned with.
“I’m excited!” said Loeb. “It’ll be nice to play back home in New York.”
The tournament started at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing on November 7th, but Loeb’s already advanced to the second round. She faces UCLA’s Chanelle Van Nguyen on Friday.
