Jeff Jackson: The little engine that could

If you were to look up the word persistence in the dictionary, you would surely see a big picture of the men's tennis team captain, Jeff Jackson. Jackson's entire college career has been one constant uphill battle, which has now seemingly ended in victory. Jackson started playing tennis at the young age of six in his home state of Colorado. He then moved into the prestigious Junior Tennis League, which consisted of players age 10 to 18. By the time Jeff turned 18, he was ranked an impressive No. 2 in all of Colorado. Hailing from Columbine High School in Colorado, Jackson played in the No. 1 slot throughout his senior year. As a senior he reached the semifinals in the state tournament. Thus concludes the smooth sailing -- the easy and dominating portion of his career. Now starts the uphill battle, which led to his improvement as a player and an individual. As a Penn freshman, Jackson did not crack the starting lineup and only played in very few matches. "After being a star in high school, being on a team where I was on the bottom was a tough adjustment," Jackson said. He did win the Team Man Award which was a testament to his hard work, team-oriented style and sportsmanship. Jackson's sophomore year started off much like his freshman year had ended. He was playing poorly in challenge matches, which determine the team's rankings, and was so frustrated he even thought of transferring. He did not let this discourage him. "I just worked really hard between fall and spring seasons with the assistant coach drilling and playing and the work evidently yielded some positive results," Jackson said. Spring break of sophomore year rolled around and coach Gene Miller took him away to California to play tennis during break. This was the sight of his first big win, a victory at the expense of the University of Pacific. "This win made me feel like a real contributing member of the team, and I finally felt like I belonged," Jackson said. During the spring of his sophomore year he made the starting lineup playing in the No. 6 singles position, where he won all but two matches, with a crucial win coming against of Cornell. Again Jackson was given an award at the end of the season, this time the Most Improved Player award. This steady progress finally skyrocketed over a year later, during the summer following his junior year. Jackson dedicated his entire summer to tennis, playing in the ITA Summer Eastern College Circuit. In July, he reached the quarterfinals against both Georgetown and William and Mary. At the National Championships at Pittsburgh, he got to the finals in doubles. Jeff attributed his success to playing over four hours a day during the summer, and to all of Miller's help. "Coach Miller helped me develop from a freshman to the mature team leader I am now," Jackson said. "Through the coaches' superior recruiting and some great team unity, we have gone from the league patsies to true contenders." Jeff started out this year excited to be captain, but nervous about all that would be expected of him. He has played consistently so far and has been a great leader as well. With a favorable schedule consisting of several home games against the elite teams, Jackson feels there is a realistic chance of winning the Ivy League. Jackson has had to take on all the captain's duties because his co-captain, Andreas Olofsson, has been out with an injury. "Going into the season we were both very excited to play together, and I look forward to getting him back for spring play for his both his tennis ability as well as his leadership qualities," Jackson said. Miller only had the highest of praise for Jackson. "Jeff is the most persistent, determined, hard-working, young man you will ever meet with immense character and integrity?.If everyone took their talent and mixed it with Jeff's heart and determination, we would be unstoppable," For those of you who have never read the childhood favorite, "The Little Engine That Could," or have never seen the movie Rudy, Jeff Jackson offers a first-hand look at how anything can be accomplished through persistence and hard work.