ELMIRA, N.Y. -- After featuring predominately in doubles matches as a freshman, sophomore Katy Jewett '21 of the Elmira College women's tennis team found herself thrust into an important singles role in her second season.
 
The Upper Nyack, New York, native responded to the challenge doled out by head coach Rob Clayton in fine fashion. After competing in only five singles matches in the 2017-18 season, Jewett took part in nine singles matches this fall despite picking up a nagging injury early in the season that forced her to miss the first three matches of the year.
 
"At the beginning of the season my only hope was for her to return healthy and continue to be until the end of the season," Clayton said.  "While it wasn't easy being a behind person and a few courts at the beginning of the match, it was a test of the individual side of our sport for the players. We were able to take it match by match and Katy, as well as the team, continued to improve each match."
 
Despite missing out on Elmira's first three matches, Jewett's determination never wavered.
 
"I told myself that I wanted to play this season and my one goal was to be able to step onto the court and play back to the level I was at before my injury and surgery," said Jewett. "My parents, my coach, my team and our trainer were all motivators for me, but the only person that could motivate me to get back onto the court was myself. When I started to play, I was focused on not getting hurt or moving a certain way, but as time went on, I started to trust my knee again. Once I was able to trust my knee and myself, I found that playing calmed me, and my teammates were there to motivate and encourage me to be able to start to play like I was used to playing."
 
Jewett signaled her return with fiery and fierce play as she dominated her competition throughout the month of September. Starting in the Soaring Eagles' match against Empire 8 Conference foe St. John Fisher, Jewett embarked on a seven-match singles winning streak, the longest by a Soaring Eagle since the 2016 season. Even more impressive was how Jewett rolled through the competition. During the streak, Jewett claimed wins at three different spots in the lineup: sixth, fourth and third. The sophomore only dropped one set during the streak, with the lone outlier coming against State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) power SUNY Oneonta.
 
"Coming back to play a game from an injury is never easy," Jewett added. "I always tell myself that no matter how the match goes, as long as I played my best that is the only thing I could do. Even though I was winning, I still went into every match like it was my first since I came back from surgery. My mindset was to be patient with the game, the ball, but especially my knee. I knew that I had my teammates standing behind me cheering and supporting me, my coaches there with every changeover, and constant support from my parents."
 
For her young career, Jewett now owns a 9-5 record in singles action and an overall record of 21-18. Clayton expects Jewett to pick up where she left off next season and move up in the lineup with the graduation of seniors Sarah Hill '19 and Cheyanne Holwell '19.
 
"I prefer to see court positions as an equal piece to a bigger puzzle, I consider everything when deciding who plays at each position," Clayton added. "While everyone has a number assigned to their name and court, at the end of the day, what decides each match will be our matchups against the opposing team rather than where we place against our teammates. Katy has a strong case for the higher end of the lineup in both doubles and singles based not only on her previous results, but from her intensity in practice and motivation to improve."
 
From Jewett's perspective, she's ready to keep improving next season. With an abbreviated spring season on the horizon and another offseason of training under Clayton, look for Jewett to continue to roll in 2019.
 
"I'm most looking forward to improving my singles game," Jewett stated.  "My personal goal is to continue to learn different strategies for doubles but especially in singles. My goal for the team is to improve our doubles games, since that is where we start matches. I always want for us as a team to build on each other's skills, work together and to have fun while we play the game that we all love."