Sunny and Zara Jakubas Bring Their “A” Game to Plymouth State

by Barbra Alan

Zara Jakubas ’16 and her sister Sunny ’18 grew up in Califon, New Jersey, a small Victorian-style town of just over 1,000 residents. It’s here that the two sisters took up tennis while still in elementary school, honing their skills under the guidance and encouragement of their father. “He’s the type of parent who makes you get out and play every day,” says Zara, who started playing at age 9. “Sunny and I have been hitting partners for most of our lives, and we’ve gotten pretty good.”

Pretty good is an understatement: In their first season on the Panther women’s tennis team, the Jakubas sisters have been the driving force behind the team’s undefeated season and its first Little East Conference (LEC) Championship in eight years, a victory that earned the team an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Championships. Sunny was named Most Outstanding Player at the LEC Championship. Along with her powerful forehand, her lethal-spin underhand serve, and her ability to anticipate the direction of the ball, one of her greatest assets is her never-say-die mindset, says Coach Barbara Rawlsky-Willett, who was recently named LEC Coach of the Year. “She never gives up. Sunny was down a set, but she came back to take the next two sets, and that clinched the championship for us.”

Zara was named both LEC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year—the first player in Little East women’s tennis history to receive both distinctions in the same season. An agile player, Zara’s forehand and backhand are equally strong, and she keeps her opponents on their toes by adding variety and spin with her serves. Zara’s secret weapon, says Coach Rawlsky-Willett, is her ability to “quickly determine her opponent’s weaknesses and exploit them.

With a great season and a championship win behind them, the team is now preparing for the NCAA Division III National Championship in May.

Confidence and Competition
On any sports team, the addition of a single player can radically change the way a team plays, as well as the team’s spirit. With the addition of the Jakubas sisters, Panther women’s tennis got the confidence boost it needed after a disappointing 2013 season. “They increased the level of play and the competitiveness of the team, and helped build a strong team culture,” says Coach Rawlsky-Willett. “They fear no opponent and are very competitive—even with each other.”

Healthy competition has served the sisters well. “We like challenging each other,” Zara says. Sunny agrees, saying, “If Zara is winning by a lot of points, I always feel like I have to catch up to her.”

If healthy competition has made Sunny and Zara better players, their shared love of the game has made them closer as sisters. Growing up, they practiced together at the local tennis club and played in National Tennis Association youth tournaments. They played together on their high school tennis team. And when Zara decided to transfer to PSU from Rutgers University, an excited Sunny realized that they could be doubles partners, something they rarely had the chance to do previously. “We’ve definitely gotten closer over the years—we have similar personalities and goals,” says Zara. “Playing next to Sunny during doubles, I just feel like I want to do really well, not just for the team, but for Sunny, to help boost her confidence.”

The PSU Difference
While tennis is an important part of the sisters’ lives, getting a good education is their top priority. In fact, when Sunny applied to PSU, she didn’t even know the University had a tennis team. She chose PSU based on affordability and the fact that it offered her chosen major, nursing. “I’m here for the education,” she says.

A campus tour, during which she met Coach Rawlsky-Willett and two of her future teammates, Nikki Lund ’17 and Rachel Gustafson ’17, sealed the deal. “The girls were super-sweet and welcoming, and so was Coach, so I decided to come here,” Sunny says. “I made a good choice; I love it here!”

Zara, who is just 15 months older but two years ahead in school, chose to go to Rutgers when she started college in 2012. “I chose Rutgers because it was an affordable choice back then, and my dad went there,” she says. But she soon found that the school, with its undergraduate student body totaling 47,000, wasn’t a good fit for her. “It’s such a big school with so many students, it was hard for me to get to know my professors,” Zara says. “They had no idea who I was.”

Struggling at Rutgers, and seeing how excited Sunny was to attend PSU, Zara started considering PSU herself. She transferred after her sophomore year and she, too, feels she made the right choice. “I discovered at Rutgers that I learn best in a smaller environment, so PSU is the perfect learning environment for me,” she says. “The classes are small, and the professors know who you are and make time for you. I love Plymouth State for that.”

In fall 2014, the sisters began their PSU experience—Sunny as a first-year nursing major and Zara as a junior biology major. While they had each other to lean on as they acclimated to their new home away from home, they quickly discovered that they also had their teammates and coach. “They welcomed us into the family right away,” recalls Sunny. “It was like gaining an instant support system.”

According to Sunny, the team’s greatest strength is how well the players—who represent a variety of backgrounds, majors, and personalities—get along, and how dedicated each player is to the team’s success. Throughout the season, the team bonded over Thursday night study sessions, dinners at Coach Barb’s house, and of course, a rigorous practice schedule. “The week before the semester began, we were practicing three times a day,” says Sunny. “Once the season began, we practiced two hours a day, six days a week, with Sundays off.”

Zara and Sunny are undaunted by the practice schedule. They were raised to develop their talent through hard work and practice. Looking back on her childhood, Sunny says, “It’s good that our dad pushed us to practice and improve our game when we were young. I don’t think my game would be where it is if he didn’t.”

Champions On and Off the Court
The sisters bring the same kind of dedication and discipline they exhibit on the court into the classroom. As a Division III school, PSU emphasizes the importance of balancing academics and athletics; its students are truly student-athletes. Both Sunny and Zara have honed their organizational and time management skills while at PSU, and they both made the President’s List (which requires a GPA of 3.7 or higher) for the fall 2014 semester. And they aren’t the only ones doing well in school: the entire team is. When the season began, the team had set three ambitious goals: win all 12 season matches, win the Little East Championship, and be selected as the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team at Plymouth State.This honor goes to a team that has a cumulative team grade point average of 3.20 or above for the year.

The team met their first two goals, and is well on its way to achieving the third, having earned a cumulative team GPA of 3.32 at the end of the fall semester, thanks in no small part to Zara’s and Sunny’s example and encouragement. “I think we’ve influenced our teammates,” says Sunny. “We’re all focused on trying to win this award.”

“This is what Division III schools are all about; striving for excellence in your sport and in your studies,” says Coach Rawlsky-Willett.

While PSU won’t soon forget the dynamic duo that brought their “A” game to the Panther women’s tennis team, the Jakubas sisters want to be remembered for much more long after they have left PSU. “We don’t want to just be remembered as great athletes,” says Sunny. “We want to be remembered as great students.”

Follow PSU’s Women’s Tennis as they pursue an NCAA Division III Championship. Competition begins in May. Visit the Women’s Tennis website for more information.

Tags:  athletics Coach Barbara Rawlsky-Willett Coach Rawlsky-Willett competition Division III LEC Championship Little East Conference (LEC) Championship NCAA Division III NCAA Division III National Championship Sana Jakubas student-athlete Sunny Jakubas tennis women's tennis Zara Jakubas