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Stockton Q&A: Jen Sikora
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Richard Stockton College's Jen Sikora earned her second New Jersey Athletic Conference women's tennis Player of the Week award of the season on Monday for her 3-0 record in singles and doubles for the Ospreys in their past three matches.
The senior helped the Ospreys close two consecutive 9-0 victories against Manhattanville and Cabrini. She won two singles matches, 6-4, 6-0 against Manhattanville and 6-0, 6-3 against Cabrini. Sikora led Stockton to a 7-2 victory over Hunter with scores of 6-1, 6-1 in the Ospreys' final home match of the season.
In doubles, Sikora and Stephanie Krupa, another former NJAC Player of the Week, combined for a pair of 8-5 victories against Manhattanville and Hunter College and an 8-0 win over Cabrini.
Sikora, a Buena Regional High School graduate, is 10-3 in singles this year.
This is her first season competing in doubles and she and Krupa are 8-2.
Sikora finished runner-up in flight 4 at the Goucher Invitational Individual Tournament.
The women's tennis team is 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference, falling only to undefeated The College of New Jersey.
Stockton will face Ramapo and William Paterson twice on the road to finish the season. If the Ospreys win all four matches, Stockton will finish second in the conference.
On being named NJAC Player of the Week for the third time: "I was really shocked because we have a lot of great players on the team, so I feel really honored to be recognized twice."
On starting to play doubles: "It was kind of a hard transformation for me because I am used to playing singles and more movement and more hitting. I really had to work on my volleys. I was a little nervous to play doubles because I had never done it before and it's a lot different than playing singles."
On facing TCNJ: "We look at it more as a challenge to make ourselves better. We just focus on playing our best and using it as an opportunity to better ourselves."
On possibly finishing second in the conference: "I think that it's a really big accomplishment beating all the other schools and I think that it's absolutely possible. If we play hard, we will (definitely) have a chance."
Her favorite part of tennis: "I really enjoy the competition and that it keeps me fit. I like the social component of being a part of a team. We all get along really well."
On her senior season: "It really makes me sad, but at the same time I feel like I'm working hard because I want to go out knowing that I played my best."
On preparing for a match: "During a match I focus on every point, even if I make a bad shot, I just focus on the next shot, because you can't get upset about the bad shots, you have to just stay focused on the next."
Contact Nyssa Dougherty:
609-272-7210
Upcoming Stockton events
Today
Field Hockey vs. TCNJ, 4 p.m.
Volleyball vs. William Paterson, 7 p.m.
Women's soccer vs. Montclair, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Men's soccer at Wesley, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Women's soccer vs. Gwynedd-Mercy, 7 p.m.
Field Hockey at William Paterson, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Volleyball at CCNY Tournament, 4 p.m.
Tennis at William Paterson, 4 p.m.
Saturday
Volleyball at CCNY Tournament, 10 a.m.
Field Hockey vs. Stevenson, noon
Men's soccer vs. Kean, 1 p.m.
Tennis at Ramapo, 1 p.m.
Women's soccer at Kean, 6 p.m.
Posted in Sports, College on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 1:30 am Updated: 2:03 am.
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