Winning streaks are not new or rare to Lia Jackson.
Her 16 consecutive singles victories earlier this year barely measure up to her high school career where she was never beaten in three years and collected three Wisconsin state titles.
Jackson also has enjoyed team success in both high school and college. She led Nicolet High School to two state titles in three years.
And in her time at Northwestern, Jackson has helped the Wildcats to a Big Ten championship last year and is key to the team’s hope of a repeat this year.
Due to No. 15 NU’s (14-3, 4-1 Big Ten) deep starting lineup, Jackson plays at the No. 4 singles spot and has been counted on to dominate her opponents and rack up the victories.
“She takes care of herself on the court,” junior Colleen Cheng said. “She has always been ready, always won and you can always count on her.”
NU coach Claire Pollard added: “I have hoped that Lia would have this kind of year. She has done a real good job of concentrating on her position.”
Jackson graduated high school in December 1998, entered NU and stepped right onto the team in January.
A mutually beneficial relationship developed between the talented freshman and her newfound teammates, one that featured competitiveness in practice and bonding on road trips.
Jackson did not have a fall season to ease into college life and tougher competition, but she beat out several returning players for a spot in the starting lineup, rolled to a 19-5 record and was voted team MVP.
“I couldn’t imagine a player with more impact,” Pollard said.
After narrowly losing an open competition with No. 2 singles Shannon Duffy and No. 3 Cheng for the higher spots at the beginning of this season, Jackson rebounded and is a leading candidate to be team MVP again. Jackson has recorded impressive victories against players from nationally-ranked Mississippi and Duke.
Her goal is to keep NU ranked among the top 16 teams in the nation—the ones that earn the right to play host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships.
Jackson had little worry of making a quick adjustment into college work but noticed her need to change to her tennis outlook.
“It was a whole new ballgame,” Jackson said. “The junior and high school circuit was all individual and this was much more about the team.”
Jackson first picked up a racket because the sport runs in the family. Her father coached both her and her younger brother, who just committed to play tennis at Michigan.
On the junior circuit, Jackson competed in tournaments around the country and garnered a lot of recruiting interest from college coaches. She received scholarship offers from tennis powers Southern California and William & Mary, as well as Michigan and Illinois from the Big Ten.
And because Jackson was promised the top singles spot at schools in warmer climates, Pollard considered herself fortunate to add Jackson to a veteran team with a deep lineup.
“Lia adds a lot and is the ultimate college team player,” Duffy said. “She is a really good friend to all of us.
“She is solid in big matches and very supportive on and off the court.”
Big serves, hard ground strokes and aggressive volleys are all key elements of her game. But her teammates also point to her intensity, passion and confidence.
“She has an enthusiasm that is second to none,” Pollard said.
Added Cheng: “I don’t know if there is another player who wants to win more.”
Jackson’s 16-game winning streak was snapped last weekend against Illinois but she did not dwell on the loss and instead pledged to play better. She’ll get her first chance this weekend with matches at Ohio State (10-6, 3-1) and Penn State (7-4, 0-4).
And Duffy foresees another winning streak in Jackson’s future.
“When she steps on the court she is better than her opponent,” Duffy said.
“I don’t think she’ll lose another match at her position.”
