By Kaitlyn Zook
NEWARK — Annie Jaskulski was never looking to continue a legacy. She wanted to create her own.
The University of Delaware wasn’t even on her radar when she began looking for colleges. She was considering schools further West, and Navy.
But her father, Kenneth Jaskulski, a UD alum, arranged a meeting with the prior Blue Hens’ head tennis coach, Laura Travis. Her dad was not the only UD connection. While attending Wilmington Friends School, Annie trained with Ken Dill, a UD Men’s Tennis Hall of Famer.
“Going to UD allowed me to maintain relationships with coaches and teachers that supported my growth,” Jaskulski said. “It also didn’t hurt to be able to drive an hour to get a home cooked meal. “
Now, four years later, Jaskulski, a senior, is graduating with a degree in Marketing. A three -year letter winner, Jaskulski ranks 35th in school history for singles wins and is sure to climb even higher as she finished up her collegiate athletic career and writes the end to her own Blue Hen story.
Growing up, tennis was not Jaskulski’s first passion. In fact, she was a bit all over the map, participating and competing in soccer, ice skating, softball, basketball, distance running, and equestrian.
Jaskulski excelled at running and equestrian, earning herself multiple medals within local and regional competitions. She found herself gravitating towards a focus on riding, and loved it, but came to the realization that the time and resources needed to train, groom, and care for the horses was a huge commitment.
This realization led Jaskulski to tennis. When she first started playing in national competitions, she quickly learned that most of the girls she competed against had a racket in their hand since they were three. Feeling intimidated, and alone on the court, she said she started to focus her time on catching up for missed years of tennis training.
That’s where coach Dill stepped in. He quickly assessed Jaskulski’s level of play and adjusted his coaching accordingly.
Under his guidance, Jakulski was able to improve and compete at a higher level than the rest of her team. Dill allowed her to receive higher training at DuPont Country Club each day after spending an hour with her high school team.
“Coach Dill also provided insights on coming to the net and volleying that I incorporated into my game.” said Jaskulski.
In high school, Jaskulski was a three-time state singles champion, three-time News Journal High School Player of the Year, ranked among the top five in her age groups and the USTA Middle States Region for four years straight.
Along with the training came the confidence boost of knowing that she could beat the best, to be the best.
That mentality is what has allowed Jaskulski to continue to write her own legacy.