One of rising Brown University sophomore and former Lady Titan Devon Jack’s dreams came true last weekend when she won a national championship.
Jack and her doubles partner Annette Goulak – a University of Georgia tennis commit – won the USTA National Open Hard Court championship at the historic Balboa Tennis Club.
It was not only the fact that Jack obtained the coveted ‘gold ball’ for winning a national championship, but the manner in which it was accomplished that proved so gratifying.
Performing in front of a huge crowd, Jack and Goulak beat Jessica Failla, a rising junior at USC, and Monica Robinson, who just completed her tennis career at Notre Dame. Jack and Goulak had to survive two pressure-packed tie breaks to prevail by scores of 3-6, 7-6(4) and 10-2 in a hard-fought come-from-behind final.
“I am beyond thrilled to have won this championship for so many reasons,” Jack said. “It is my first adult championship and my very first gold ball. The caliber of players was outstanding. The atmosphere was great with so many spectators cheering for all the players. It also means so much because I have been playing with injuries. At one point, I thought I would have to stop playing in the women’s final because I was in so much pain but I gutted it out. I thought ‘there is no way I am going to let my partner down.’”
Both Failla and Robinson play no. 1 for their respective universities.
Jack also went on to win a 3rd place bronze ball in the mixed doubles portion of the national championships with her partner Zac Brodney, who plays for Indiana University. They beat Keegan Smith, a UCLA commit, and Dominique Schaefer, a North Carolina State commit, by scores of 6-4, 6-4.
The USTA National Open Hard Court championships are held in San Diego, where some of the best players converge in an effort to win a prestigious gold, silver or bronze ball – the most coveted items a player can acquire in a super national event. Past winners of the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships include Jack Sock and Coco Vandeweghe.
Aside from her prowess on the court, Jack has been acknowledged for her sportsmanship. Earlier this year, she was named to the USTA Junior Leadership Team, the highest award given by the United States Tennis Association to the top 32 players in the country “who are truly role models, exhibit character well beyond their years, both on the court and in the community.”
In 2016, she received the SCTA Evelyn Housemann Lifetime Sportsmanship Award.
It’s the highest award given by the Southern California Tennis Association for displaying “excellence on the court, honesty, integrity, exemplary conduct and sportsmanship throughout their junior tennis career.”
She also received the 2015 SCTA Sportsmanship Award for Girls 18 & under and the 2014 SCTA Sportsmanship Award for Girls 16 & under.
Despite injuries, Jack cracked Brown’s starting lineup as a freshman, securing the no. 4 position and contributed to 18 singles wins and 10 doubles wins. Academically, she completed her last semester with a 4.0 GPA.
In Juniors tennis, Jack has won numerous doubles and singles tournaments on a national level in Oklahoma and Arizona, as well as top tournaments in Southern California, including Southern California Sectionals, Ojai, Mary Bryner, Fullerton, Long Beach, Esme Pearson, J.P. Yamasaki, Anaheim, Irvine, and Ramada.
At San Marino High School, she was 2-time National High School All-American, the 2016 all-Area Player of the Year, one of six ABC News/Toyota Southern California Scholar Athlete of the Year finalists and led the Lady Titans to consecutive CIF Championships. She is also a 2-time Rio Hondo League singles champion following her junior and senior seasons, a Rio Hondo League doubles champion after her sophomore season and made the all-Area team each of her four years at SMHS.
She received the City Club’s Most Valuable Player award after her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
In the classroom, Devon was chosen to be a Promethean, a California Scholarship Federation Seal Bearer and an AP Scholar.
Devon is the daughter of Nam and Mike Jack. Her older brother, Drew, is a member of the track and cross country teams at Occidental College.
