Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407290062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Her best friends were left behind when she graduated from Virginia in May. Her parents are running their businesses in Concord, Mass. Her coach - well, she really doesn't have one.
Her baseball-playing days long past - she was a left-handed, Little League first baseman for six years growing up in New Hampshire - she'll spend the next couple years swinging at another ball. Just Jen, for now a tennis vagabond, college degree in back pocket, racket in hand, roads and towns disappearing behind her.
``I'm here by myself,'' Callen said. ``I have no choice.
``I don't have a full-time coach, and I don't have a place to work out. It makes it real tough. ... But I'm doing OK without all that stuff.''
She did OK, to a point, this week at Hunting Hills Country Club. She lost in qualifying but was admitted to the 32-player main draw as a ``lucky loser,'' replacing a main-draw dropout. She won her first-round main-draw match - ``First ever,'' she said happily - but lost 6-1, 6-3 to second-seeded Kristina Brandi of Bradenton, Fla., on Thursday.
Things came apart quickly for the ambidextrous Callen, but she'd been around longer than expected. She had few true chances against Brandi, a youngster who lurches over her ground strokes like she's being pitched forward on the deck of a fitful ship.
In other singles results Thursday, No.1 seed Claudine Toleafoa beat Lucie Ludvigova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3; sixth-seeded Petra Gaspar of Hungary defeated Kristin Sanderson of Pinellas Park, Fla. 6-1, 6-4; Keiko Nagatomi of Japan downed Kelly Pace of Huntsville, Ala. 6-1, 6-2; Yoshiko Sasano of Japan beat seventh-seeded Jo Ward of England 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2; Tara Snyder of Wichita, Kan. defeated Paloma Collantes of Jackson, Miss. 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Nao Akahori of Japan downed Renata Diez of Brazil 6-1, 6-3; and Aarthi Venkatesan of Tampa, Fla. beat Amanda Augustus 6-1, 6-3.
Quarterfinals in the $10,000 event begin today at Hunting Hills. Toleafoa faces Sasano and Nagatomi meets Gaspar in 10 a.m. matches; Akahori meets Venkatesan following the Toleafoa match. At 6 p.m., Snyder plays Brandi. Doubles matches begin in the afternoon. Tickets are $4 for today's play and may be purchased at the gate.
Collantes played collegiately at Mississippi, which gives her and Callen acres of common ground. Callen was Virginia's No.1 singles player for three years, an all-ACC choice who has been UVa's only participant in the NCAA Championship singles competition (1993 and '94).
She finished last season ranked No.23 nationally with a 19-8 record despite tendinitis in her right knee that limited her to singles-only competitions at UVa.
In her first summer on the pro tour, Callen often finds herself playing teen-age products of tennis academies. Though Jennifer Capriati did not tour the pro satellite circuit, her well-publicized burnout and aftermath were on Callen's mind. Callen loved the college experience and noted the differences from the pro tour - including teammates' support.
In a tournament such as Roanoke's, players hope they catch the fancy of local observers [as Callen did this week], or their winners are greeted with silence.
``I wish more juniors that are good tennis players would play in college,'' Callen said. ``You can't replace college. You can't go back.''
Callen said she'll try the pro tour for two years and hopes to travel to Europe, too. Her dad is paying the bills for now, she said.
She's expecting to break into the Women's Tennis Association rankings next week for the first time, where she'll likely have a three-digit number beginning with nine.
``I want to see how far I can take it,'' she said. ``I would've regretted it if I didn't try it. In about a year, it's going to free me up a lot, because I have a degree. I don't have the pressures of doing really well in tennis, because I don't have to.''
by CNB