Jones Advances in NCAA Singles

May 20, 2015

WACO, Texas -- Ole Miss women's tennis senior Julia Jones found herself in familiar territory in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship Wednesday, falling behind to Arizona State's Desirae Krawczyk, before rallying to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 and advance to the second round.

"Tremendous effort by Julia to come back from a set down and win against a very good player," head coach Mark Beyers said. "Krawczyk was a lefty who hits the ball really hard, so it was difficult for Julia to get in a rhythm in the beginning of the match. Julia was a little nervous at the beginning, but she settled down and played her game. This shows why she was named the most improved player in the country."

In her first ever NCAA singles match, Jones, seeded 9-16, served first, and Krawczyk, ranked No. 30 in the nation, broke right away and went on to win the first set 6-3.

Having been in this position on four previous occasions this year, Jones didn't panic, even when Krawczyk broke to go up 2-0 in the second set.

Jones turned the match around, winning 10 straight games to take the second set 6-2 and build a 4-0 lead in the third.

"I am usually a little tight in the first round of a tournament," Jones said. "But then the nerves tend to go away. I didn't serve all that well in the first set, but I knew that if I kept playing the way I know how to play it was going to kick in. My serve got a lot better in the second set and it put more pressure on her to hold her serve.Â I made her make a few more errors."

The recently named ITA Most Improved Player never looked back, closing out Krawczyk 6-1 to improve to 5-0 when dropping the first set. Jones is also 9-0 in three-setters this year.

"In the third set I was pretty confident because I had won six games in a row to get there," Jones said. "I knew if I got off to a good start in the third that I could finish it."

Jones honed her skills in St. Petersburg, Florida, but her family moved back to Mississippi (McComb) when she started at Ole Miss. They've been a fixture at home matches throughout her career, and they made the trip to Waco for her final college tournament.

"It was nice having my family, including my grandmother in the stands cheering for me," Jones said. "I am glad they could come watch me play my last college tournament."

With the win, Jones became the 10th player in program history to record 30 wins in a season.

Next up for Jones is a rematch with California's Zsofi Susanyi Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The two met in the fall at the ITA National Indoor, and Jones lost in two tight sets 6-4, 7-6(4).

All matches during the tournament will feature live scoring and live video, which can be accessed on the NCAA Tournament Central page.

For more information on Ole Miss Women's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWTennis, on Facebook at OleMissWTennis and on Instagram at OleMissWTennis.

NCAA Singles Championship -- Waco, Texas
(9-16) Julia Jones (OM) def. Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1

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Julia Jones

The University of Mississippi Athletics