Jaedan Brown’s mental toughness helps her rally back in singles play, propels Michigan to victory

After losing the first set of her singles match, it looked like senior Jaedan Brown might be in for a rough day. Errant serves and a tough opponent created palpable frustration for her on Tuesday afternoon, compounding the already high pressure the match generated.

It didn’t begin that way, though. Brown got off to a strong start on the day when she and fellow senior Kari Miller dismantled No. 8 Florida’s Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee in their first-ranked match. The duo — which ranks 8th in the NCAA for doubles — helped the No. 5 Michigan women’s tennis team win the doubles point thanks to some strong net play from Brown.

The victory was extra sweet for Brown, who recalled facing Dudeney and Spee the previous year.

“We played them last year, and we kind of got killed,” Brown said. “From the start we were like, we need to be on them, be moving in, going line at times. … Our mindset was just be aggressive and take the net away from them, and it worked.”

But as her no. 3 singles match against Emily DeOlivera began, Brown quickly found herself on her heels. DeOlivera was clearly in control of the match, and Brown didn’t look comfortable as she tried to overcome troubles with her serve — an issue she’s been battling since her shoulder surgery last summer.  

Throughout the first set, Brown played defensively, looking to keep the point alive rather than take an aggressive approach. After DeOlivera took the set, 6-4, Brown knew that she needed to mentally reset if she was going to give herself a chance to win the match. A moment to herself in the locker room and a chat with Wolverines coach Ronni Bernstein helped her turn her mindset around. 

“I was being super negative, and Ronni came up to me and she was like, ‘Just compete,’” Brown said. “Being a senior on this team, I can’t preach it and not do it. So I went back to the locker room, just took some time and came out and was like, ‘I just need to fight for every single point.’” 

When the second set began, Brown was an entirely different player. Looking much more collected on the court, she began to attack her opponent more frequently. Brown took advantage of opportunities to play at the net, where she built upon her doubles performance and won numerous points with intelligent ball placement. In the first set, she seemed to be more comfortable in games against the serve, but in the second she attacked with service much more confidently.

“Halfway through the second I was like, ‘I’ve been serving great in practice, I just need to relax and keep jumping into the court and going for it,’” Brown said.

Up two games to one in the second set, Brown continued to ramp up the intensity, battling through a few errant serves and turning the tides in her favor. Her rejuvenated mentality earned her a 6-3 victory in the second set, and from there her momentum only continued to build.

Serving to begin the third set, it was clear that Brown was not planning on relinquishing that momentum. She took advantage of two powerful serves on the first two points to win the first game. Then she won the second game handily, too. Then the third. Then the fourth. Then she won her fifth consecutive game to go up 5-0 in the set.

As DeOlivera got visibly more fatigued, Brown only grew stronger, playing mistake-free tennis and letting out passionate yells with each point won. 

“I’m trying to give it everything, and I also play better that way,” Brown said. “When I’m not down, that’s how I win.”

DeOlivera managed to steal the sixth game, but Brown shut down any comeback effort with a dominant performance in the seventh game, taking the set and the match. Fittingly, it was Brown’s singles victory that clinched the win for Michigan, giving it a 4-1 decision over the Gators. 

With her service issues and an early deficit, Brown could have thrown in the towel and let her negative mindset rule the day. But she battled through the adversity for both herself and for her team.

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