A year ago Sidney Jones was on a gap year in Los Angeles, working on the part of her game she called her biggest weakness.
This summer she went to Tuskegee University to try out for the tennis team. She came home with a full-ride scholarship.
The first few weeks
She arrived on campus in August. In her own words, she has spent those first weeks getting to know her coach and teammates, putting "countless hours on the tennis court," and working and studying hard.
Then came her first two tournaments with the team.
In the first one she played three matches and won all three.
The HBCU Classic
The second was the HBCU Classic, the first year Tuskegee's team had ever attended.
Sidney won the Flight B championship match. It took more than three hours.
That win helped Tuskegee take the 25th Anniversary D2 HBCU National Tennis Championship.
"I am incredibly proud of my teammates, my coaches, and myself."
Why it matters
Sidney's LOVE ALL year was about the part of tennis nobody sees: staying calm when the match could slip. A three-hour championship match is exactly that test. She passed it in her first month of college tennis.
She's clear about where it started.
"Receiving the Kodjoe Scholarship really helped strengthen my foundation and tennis, and helped open so many doors for me during my gap year."
And she's not done.
"I am excited to see what the rest of this year has in store!"
Sidney has also thanked the Jack and Jill of America Foundation, a Kodjoe Family Foundation partner, for contributing to her development as a player.
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