ASU women's tennis senior Kassidy Jump put the finishing touches on a sparkling four-year career — a journey she would repeat in a heartbeat.
Jump lost her final match as a Sun Devil on Wednesday in straight sets to Texas Tech sophomore Felicity Maltby in the first round of the NCAA singles championship, but the Granite Bay, California native’s full body of work speaks for itself.
The former five-star recruit out of the JMG Tennis Academy is an All-Pac 12 First Team honoree, the International Tennis Association (ITA) Southwest Region Most Improved Player, a Pac-12 Player of the Week in late March, and accomplished her goal of making the individual NCAA Tournament.
Known as “Fist Pump” by her teammates and coaches, she finished her career with the sixth-most wins in school history (85) and received plenty of postseason honors after an impressive final season.
“I couldn’t have imagined going anywhere else,” Jump said. “If I could have done it all over again, I would have picked ASU.”
One loss, albeit on the biggest stage, does not take away all that Jump has accomplished.
“I enjoyed my experience at ASU so much,” Jump said. “Just the people I have been able to meet outside of athletics and in athletics have been so amazing. I’ve gained lifelong friends and within the athletic department, they're so helpful for our lives after college, really wanting us to succeed.”
Wednesday afternoon’s defeat was tough on both players. A two-hour rain delay did not allow either Jump or Maltby to settle in and mid-match showers forced the match indoors.
"I think she started out a bit nervous and did not give herself a chance to settle
Watch @sundeviltennis #STEMMVP Kassidy Jump transfer forces to complete a tennis serve in @chevron's #HumanEnergyStories. pic.twitter.com/DRtAi9TkGV
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 27, 2017
Senior season in review
Playing on court one for the first time in 2016-17, Jump went 20-14 in singles as a senior. Partnered with sophomore Sammi Hampton (CQ) in doubles for the second straight season, the pairing won 10 of their final 12 matches and finished 26-6 overall on court three. At one point this season, Jump and Hampton held a 13-match winning streak.
All things considered, Jump held her own against
Despite losing to Di Lorenzo and Stefani, Jump held her own against
Jump said she has learned a lot from all her coaches, but said in the last two years assistant coach Matt Langley has made a huge impact.
“Matt has been great,” Jump said. “He has really helped me through a lot of tough matches, especially this year, and believe in myself.
Thanks Kass for all you've done for the ASU women's program! #SunDevil4Life @sundeviltennis @TheSunDevils https://t.co/KSkNaFYSCy
— Deana Garner-Smith (@dgarnerSWA) May 25, 2017
Support Network
Before this past season, Jump said she got used to playing with the same teammates. As a result, she became very close with everyone.
Three new players, junior transfers Kelley Anderson and Nicole Fossa-Huergo and freshman Savannah Slaysman, became Sun Devils but Jump said her and fellow seniors Gussie O’Sullivan and Alex Osborne quickly bonded as a group.
“To be honest, this last year was by far the closest team that I have been a part of these four years,” Jump said. “Every girl that I have been able to interact with on the team and get to know have been amazing and they are all like family now.”
In addition, members of Jump’s family were loyal supporters both at Whiteman Tennis Center and on the road.
“I’m used to my family being there, because they were always there during the juniors,” Jump said. “Being at college, I kind of get used to being on my own a little bit more but it’s always nice to have my family there for comfort and support.”
During her singles matches this season, Jump received additional support from ASU students and fans sitting in the bleachers located closest to court one.
“The fans were great,” Jump said. “A lot of our big matches got really big crowd support and that really helps me because I like playing in front of people; I like the rowdiness, I like the noise.”
Now an ASU graduate, the criminal j
“Hopefully I can still play some tennis,” Jump said. “Once my tennis career is over, I would like to get involved with something federal or within (the Department of) Homeland Security.”
Reach the reporter at jpjacqu1@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.
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