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Jackie Carleton Question & Answer
11/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Nov. 4, 2004
Jackie Carleton is a junior transfer from UCLA. Carleton, a native of Jenkintown, Pa., arrived at Duke in the fall after two stellar seasons at UCLA, where she was named ITA All-America as a freshman and sophomore. She is expected to provide an immediate impact for the Blue Devils and is preseason ranked 19th in the nation.
GoDuke.com: How has your experience been so far since you have arrived at Duke?
Jackie Carleton: It's been great. I've really liked having a smaller academic scene and smaller classes. Jamie [Ashworth] and Adam [Gusky] are great, you know, working extra on-court/off-court. I knew a lot of girls on the team before I came, so it felt pretty easy to fit in and it's been a great environment.
GoDuke.com: Is it nice to be back on the East Coast after spending two years at UCLA?
Jackie Carleton: Yeah, definitely. I actually see a couple people who I know from home, and hopefully some of my friends and family will be able to come down and watch some matches. Since my dad's my coach he's never seen a college match yet, the whole time I was at UCLA, so hopefully he'll make it down this year.
GoDuke.com: How nice was it to advance to the NCAA Final Four last year and the National Championship match?
Jackie Carleton: It was great. I mean, our team really pulled together. It was really exciting, just knowing that every point, every match counted so much. We gave Stanford a good run for their money and that's what college sports are all about. You're playing for a team that you get to that match and you put yourself in a position to win. You know, we fell short, but that's my goal here: to be on a national championship team.
GoDuke.com: What did you learn from the experience and will you use that experience to help this Blue Devil team?
Jackie Carleton: Yeah, definitely. I played at No. 1 singles last season for all of the year except for regionals and finals. I want to try to be a leader, try to have every person on the team playing as well as they can. Have everyone fired up and getting along well as a team. That was the main thing that I think that pulled us through. I mean, we definitely had our ups and downs in the beginning, but by the end we were one cohesive team.
GoDuke.com: The fall season is mainly an individual season, but how is the team coming together?
Jackie Carleton: I think the team is coming together well. We have this tournament coming up this weekend; this is like a hidden dual match, so it'll be exciting. You know, everyone is playing for themselves, but at the same time playing for the greater cause-- Duke's overall victory. It's looking really good; we have a lot of potential. Everyone's working hard now.
GoDuke.com: The 2004-05 Duke team has some of the best depth that it has had in a long time. How much do you think that will help this team and is it a battle everyday in practice?
Jackie Carleton: Definitely the quality of practice is very high. So that's good. Everyday you come out and no matter who you're paired up with you have a great person to play with. And I think depth is actually the most important thing for a successful college team. I mean, you can have one or two great top five in the nation players, but you need six players out there. Having all this depth just means it's that much better in practice, so it'll carry over to matches.
GoDuke.com: What are you majoring in and do you know what you would like to do after graduation?
Jackie Carleton: I'm majoring in Political Science but specializing in International Relations, and a Markets and Management Certificate. After school, I definitely want to play tennis. I want to play professionally and see how that goes. I'm not really too sure after that.
GoDuke.com: What is your dream profession?
Jackie Carleton: Professional tennis player would be my dream. Maybe something with tennis? I'm not really sure. Could you ever see yourself coaching? Maybe...right now I'm not sure.
GoDuke.com: If you could play another sport at Duke what would it be and why?
Jackie Carleton: Volleyball. It's such a fun team sport; after every point they get so fired up. I have a lot of friends, and my boyfriend at UCLA, they play volleyball there. You can play outdoors, indoors, and each person has their own distinct role. I could use my serve!
GoDuke.com: What other hobbies do you have other than playing tennis?
Jackie Carleton: Well I played a lot of other sports growing up. I played lacrosse, field hockey, softball, swimming. I play a little bit of piano. Basically when I finally get free time now I like to take it easy.
GoDuke.com: What made you take to tennis?
Jackie Carleton: Definitely my dad had a huge influence. He always let both my brothers and I choose what we wanted to play. I liked that it was an individual sport, you're held accountable for your actions: for your wins, your losses, everything. And it's pretty intense and I'm pretty competitive.
GoDuke.com: How is it having your dad as a coach?
Jackie Carleton: It's good; I've had him as a coach since the first ball I've hit so it's everything I've ever known. But it's really good. He's really knowledgeable and we have a good father/daughter and coach/student relationship.
GoDuke.com: Did he play college or professional tennis?
Jackie Carleton: Yeah, he played at Flagler College in St. Augustine
GoDuke.com: What is one thing that most people don't know about you?
Jackie Carleton: I'm pretty easy-going off the court!
GoDuke.com: Are you that intense on the court?
Jackie Carlton: Yeah! If you just see me play, you'd probably think I was crazy, but off the court I have a good personality.
GoDuke.com: Do you have any pre-match rituals?
Jackie Carleton: Probably listen to some techno? I'm a little bit superstitious; I do the same drills every time before I warm up, have my coach hit me serves.
GoDuke.com: If you could appear on the cover of any magazine, what would it be?
Jackie Carleton: Sports Illustrated
GoDuke.com: Besides Duke, what other schools did you look at before transferring from UCLA? What were the main reasons for choosing Duke?
Jackie Carleton: Pretty much it was just Duke. I talked to a few other schools, but I heard that Jamie [Ashworth] had the scholarship and that they were looking to recruit someone to play pretty high in the lineup. Definitely the blend of elite athletics and academics attracted me to Duke. And also, UCLA was such a big, public school, that's what I wanted when I was first going to school, but I definitely wanted to get a taste of a private, smaller university.
Favorites:
Type of racket: Head Tennis court to play on: Philly Cricket Club; I love the grass there. Food: Pizza Book: The Lovely Bones TV Show: The O.C. Movie: Clueless Actor/Actress: Meg Ryan Professional team: The Sixers Professional athlete: Roger Federer Place at Duke: I think just walking up towards the Chapel
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