In her second year at Virginia, sophomore Kristen James has become a crucial part of the women's tennis team. Saturday against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Clifton, Va. native got a shot to play No. 1 for the Cavaliers for the first time in her collegiate career.
James helped her Centreville High School team to three state championships. She personally won one singles and one doubles state championship.
Her success at high school foreshadowed her success on a Division I college team in both singles and doubles.
Last year, James went 27-9 in doubles matches, most of which she played with current sophomore Lori Stern. In addition to ending the season ranked No. 36 in the nation, the pair toppled the No. 4 team, Duke's Amanda Johnson and Julie DeRoo in addition to the No. 17 duo from University of Kentucky, Jill Buckley and Amy Trefethen.
James' two singles upsets against ranked opponents came against Duke and Kentucky as well. She did not allow her doubles defeat of DeRoo to stand alone; she downed the No. 81 player in singles also. James also took down No. 48 Natalie Roels of Kentucky.
While James has never been ranked nationally, her 25-12 singles record last season was second among her teammates.
This Saturday marked James' first appearance at the No. 1 spot. Last season she switched around at three and four and has played two and three this season.
"Kristen's been doing real well," head coach Phil Rogers said. "So we gave her a chance to play at one."
While the team has been switching players' order since the season began, until this weekend, junior Mariko Fritz-Krockow had held on to the top spot since the beginning of the spring.
"It was just kind of to give Kristen a chance to play one," Fritz-Krockow said. "She deserves it. [Being replaced at No. 1] shouldn't matter, but you know, it does."
James' current seven-game winning streak may have had something to do with the decision. After a mediocre 9-4 singles and 4-6 doubles records in the fall, she has improved to 17-15 in singles and 11-8 in doubles.
While the team has not been changing the No. 1 spot, line-up changes are rarely permanent and definitely not unusual.
"Of course I was excited," James said. "But I like playing anywhere. It was a little bit of a surprise but nothing out of the ordinary."
James has consistently played at two in doubles with fellow sophomore Shannon Stough. They are 7-2 on the season.
Kristen is not the only James on the Virginia team. Her sister, Laura, is a senior. Last season, the pair played three doubles matches at the Demon Deacon Classic and managed to reach the Flight B final.
While Kristen's switch to the team's No. 1 spot may not be permanent, it proves that she is a player her coaches and teammates admire. Her record is a testament to her ability to contribute to the team no matter at which spot she plays.
Kristen and her teammates will travel to Texas next week for their annual spring break trip to take on SMU and TCU.
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