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De Anza's Jessie Gomulka: 'I'm Meant to Play Tennis'

After leading the De Anza Women's tennis team to the top of the Coast Conference League standings, team captain Jessie Gomulka ends her collegiate career at the height of her game.

 

Editor's Note: This article was written for Cupertino Patch as part of a San Jose State University journalism class assignment. The writer welcomes your feedback and comments.

From the moment she picked the flyer up off of the ground beneath the monkey bars, Jessie Gomulka knew tennis would become more than a game; it would become a passion.

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Tennis careers usually start on the court, set to the tune of a humming ball machine, the harsh squeak of sliding shoes, and the occasional grunting overhead smash. For Gomulka, tennis found her among the plastic slides and tanbark of the local jungle gym in her hometown of San Bernadino.

"I was in third grade and found a 'tennis buddies' flyer laying on my playground," she said, recalling how excited she was to join the community's tennis club.

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"I was in love with tennis from the very first practice; I couldn't get enough."

Gomulka's immediate infatuation with tennis soon became a family affair, and both of her parents encouraged Jessie and embraced the Tennis Buddies club. "My parents loved the tennis community so much they eventually took over the organization and tripled the amount of new players" joining each summer.  

Fast forward several years.

The De Anza Women's tennis team just finished the 2013 season atop the Coast Conference standings, tied with Chabot College for the best record and improving upon last year's disappointing fourth place finish.

Gomulka, the team captain, was a big part of that.

Gomulka's teammates are her new "tennis buddies," a group of girls she considers more than just friends. "We are more than a team" she said, "we are a family," a family that spent a weekend in Santa Cruz playing tag at the beach and bonding with their coach and his 5 year-old son. 

In her second and final season with the team, she was named team captain and took the creed of "family" to heart, encouraging the girls, just as her mom did for her many years ago.

"As team captain, I got the team fired up with chants before and after games." More importantly, however, Jessie made sure that every girl was happy, no matter if she was the #1 seed or never set foot on the court. "I would do whatever it took, whether it be sitting with someone, talking to them after they lost a match or helping them with homework."

For Gomulka, it was "essentially like being another mom" to her teammates. 

After ending her final season with a perfect singles record and improving upon her 10-7 record the year before, she reflected on the sport that has been a part of her life since she was nine years old. 

"This was my second year at De Anza, meaning my last. I cried at Ojai (College Tennis Invitational), because I knew competitive tennis was over for me." 

Gomulka hopes to stay active in the USTA and compete in tournaments, where tennis scouts could award her a scholarship and keep her passion for tennis burning.

"I love tennis because its the one thing in life I have control over. I've worked for every win, I've worked for every loss, and I know when I lose, its because I'm not working hard enough.

When I walk on a court, it feels like a second home. I'm meant to play tennis. I love the intenseness of the game, I love the competitive aspect, and I love mental challenge." 

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