As one of the Big Green's three incoming freshmen on the women's tennis team, Jacqueline Crawford '17 has made a splash in the international tennis world this summer by competing in her first professional tournament, the Waterloo Challenger in Waterloo, Ontario.
Crawford qualified for the event after defeating three fellow U.S. players to advance to the 32-player draw. In her first qualifying match, Crawford beat Casey Robinson 6-3, 6-3, before defeating Samantha Powers, 6-2, 6-2. Her final victory came against Ashley Murdock. Crawford lost the first game 4-6, before defeating Murdock 6-2 and 6-0 in the final two of the match.
In the tournament's main draw, Crawford lost her first match to Tori Kinard in two tight games, 6-4 and 7-6. Even with this loss, Crawford's three qualifying wins boosted her WTA ranking to 944, the highest of her career.
Growing up in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Crawford began playing tennis at age nine and was competing at the national level three years later. From ages 12 to 14, Crawford was ranked as one of the nation's top five players for her age group.
After her freshman year of high school, Crawford began homeschooling to accommodate for a demanding practice schedule.
"I started dreaming of becoming a professional tennis player, which made all the work seem so much easier," Crawford said.
At home, Crawford works with a private coach and trainer to maintain her fitness. She begins her day working on hitting and point play before moving to off-court footwork exercises. Crawford said that focusing on footwork has boosted her confidence on the court.
"Since I've started playing professional events, what's really changed is the aspect of my off-court training," Crawford said. "I've added in a lot more off-court exercises to allow me to deliver more of the shots that I've been working on."
Crawford has renewed her focus on her transition game, coming to the net against opponents and incorporating more variety into her serve.
"I've been working on getting more comfortable recognizing when I hit a good shot and taking time away from my opponent," Crawford said.
When it was time to look at schools, Crawford only made one recruiting visit to Hanover. "After my first two days, I didn't want to visit anywhere else," Crawford said.
Crawford has always competed as an individual, so the team mentality that dominates college tennis is something will be a welcome difference.
"Tennis is such an individual sport, and I've never really had the opportunity to play alongside other players," Crawford said.
Crawford, who is the only Big Green incoming freshman on the woman's team who has competed at the professional level, said her experience has allowed her to learn how top players compete.
"Women who have been on the court for many years never continue the same game plan if it's not working," Crawford said. "I think that has made me smarter on the court."
Head coach Bob Dallis said Crawford's experience will help her teammates recognize their ability to play at a high level of competition.
"I think her being exposed to some really high-level players will help her and the players on the team," Dallis said.
Crawford, Taylor Ng '17 and Narni Summerall '17 will make up the Big Green's freshman roster in the coming year, and Dallis said that a strong team support network will be essential to the Big Green's success.
"I think a big reason why they chose Dartmouth is because they want to be a part of a team that pushes each other," Dallis said.
Big Green captain Melissa Matsuoka '14 said Crawford's extensive tournament experience reflects well on the team.
"This shows that the Dartmouth women's tennis team is at a really competitive level," Matsuoka said.
