North Texas Daily

Moving more than 9,000 miles from her hometown of Chandlers Hill, Australia, tennis freshman Jasmine Adams has made her mark early in her time with the Mean Green.

At North Texas’ first four competitions of the spring, Adams lost one singles match to New Mexico State University senior Harsha Challa. She also went undefeated in doubles play with her partner, senior Lucie Devier, as the team triumphed in each of its first four spring events. In the Mean Green’s most recent match on Feb. 7 against TCU, Adams lost her singles match in three sets after falling in doubles as well.

When she was recruited by the Mean Green, Adams was ranked the No. 41 women’s player in Australia and the second-highest ranked under-18 women’s player in the country. She held offers from Utah, Arizona and Texas A&M among others before signing with North Texas on Nov. 11, 2020.

“I want to be the best player I can be,” Adams said. “What stood out to me [about North Texas] was the coaches — I thought they were very inspirational, they believed in me. I met all the teammates as well and they were pretty cool.”

On the court, Adams said her biggest area of growth has been combining her defensive strengths with more aggressive play.

Outside of adjusting to college tennis and improving her game, Adams also faced challenges away from the courts.

“I am adjusting well — at the start, it was a bit rough because I was still trying to find my place,” Adams said. “But now I am finding my place better and getting to know everyone on the team. [I am] being able to balance tennis and school at the same time — so it is getting good.”

One of Adams’ more competitive matches ensued when she went against Lamar junior Elena Tairyan on Jan. 30. Adams took a back-and-forth first set 6-4 and got the point by winning the second set 6-3. Tennis head coach Sujay Lama said he took notice of her toughness and drive while watching her play.

“She is a very talented player and very special — she has the grit,” Lama said. “She loves to compete and has that competitive fire which is unbelievable.” 

Devier said Adams’ work ethic during practices has an impact on the entire team. She said the example Adams sets pushes the rest of the team to strive for better and improve themselves.

“She is a calm person, doesn’t talk a lot but when she does she says the right stuff,” Devier said. “She is encouraging [to] teammates, she is cheering and happy to be here.”

Adams said she likes the wider variety of competition in North Texas compared to her home country. She also said back home in Australia there were not as many players so she would play the same people constantly. 

“I know here I am always going to play someone new,” Adams said. “I get to play a lot of different people from different countries so that is amazing.”

Back in the fall, Adams and Devier advanced to the semifinals in the doubles tournament at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Texas Regionals on Oct. 14-18.  As an unranked team, the pair defeated multiple ranked teams including No. 4 seed the University of Texas and No. 13 seed Texas Tech University. They ultimately fell to No. 2 seed Baylor University. 

“I want to become the best player I can — I want to win with the team and get to NCAA Championships with Lucie and go far in the double and getting ranked,” Adams said. “Just bettering myself as a person and as a tennis player.”

Featured Image: Freshman Jasmine Adams gets ready for a serve at the Waranch Tennis Complex on Jan. 30, 2022. Photo by Maria Crane