Wake Forest Athletics
Q&A With Jonathan Wolff
10/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Oct. 15, 2010
This article was originally published in the Oct. 9 edition of Kickoff, the official gameday magazine of Wake Forest football.
Q: When you were looking at schools, what made you decide to come to Wake Forest?
A: I chose Wake because I knew a bunch of the guys on the team and that helped the recruiting process. I was looking for a smaller school than my high school with great academics and people who I could relate to.
Q: What is your favorite memory from your first three years at Wake Forest?
A: Winning the deciding match to advance to the semifinals of the 2009 ACC Championships. That was fun.
Q: It seems like no matter where you play in the lineup, you always find a way to win. What is it like to go into a match knowing that you're going to be counted upon by the rest of the team to come away with a victory?
A: At first I was under pressure, but I realized that if I relaxed out there that I could give my teammates confidence in me to win at those positions. It helps me relax, and it helps the team relax.
Q: How would you describe your game?
A: I'd say that I'm definitely a baseliner. I'm working every day to try to become more of an all-court player by working on my transitions and my net game and improving my serve as well.
Q: You've been known to play a lot of three-set matches. What type of mentality does it take to be successful in a long match?
A: Now that I know that my conditioning is there, I don't have to worry about the fitness aspect of it. In those matches I have to stay focused and not get distracted. If you get distracted for a split-second, you get your serve broken and you're already down a break. The key is pretty much just staying focused and keeping your team in there if there are other matches going on.
Q: You and Iain Atkinson are the only two seniors on the team this year. Do you feel like you've had to step up and take more of a leadership role?
A: Definitely. Coach (Jeff Zinn) assigned us both as co-captains, so we're definitely helping out by arranging practice times for people who can't make it. We're working on our leadership skills and trying to make everyone the best player that they can be.
Q: What are some of your goals this season, both individually and for the team?
A: Individually, I've always wanted to make the NCAA Singles Championships. Now I feel like I have a legitimate chance to do that. It would also be nice to make the NCAA Doubles Championships with Iain or whoever I'm paired with. As a team, I'd like to dream really big and say that we have a chance to get to the (NCAA) finals and hopefully try to win it, but getting to the Final Four would be amazing. Also, hopefully beating Virginia for the first time since I've been here and capturing an ACC title. It would be great to get a ring.
Q: What's been your favorite part for playing under head coach Jeff Zinn?
A: We've had our ups and downs. He's really intense on the court, and at first I was kind of taken aback because coming up from juniors, I hadn't really had that kind of coaching before. Now I've gotten used to it. I've learned from what he has to tell me and been able to incorporate it into my matches.
Q: What is your major and what are your plans for after graduation?
A: I'm majoring in psychology, but I don't know if I'm going to pursue that necessarily. I decided recently that I might want to do sports management and go in that direction. Maybe I'll take a year off and play some tennis, and do a little bit of coaching, and then go to grad school for sports management.
Q: You were named to the All-ACC Academic Team in 2009 and 2010. How important have academics been to your time here at Wake?
A: As much as I want to be a leader, I have to show it. I think that my grades reflect my leadership and my character, and they go hand-in-hand.
Q: What is your favorite class or professor that you've taken at Wake?
A: (Associate Professor of Sociology) David Yamane who is also our team stringer. I love taking his sociology classes and it's probably why I'm minoring in sociology. He picks on me a lot in class, but it's always fun.
Players Mentioned
