WINONA LAKE - Jessica Stolle is young, but she's the one making the opposition restless.
As a freshman playing No. 1 singles for the Grace College Lancers, Stolle is off to an 8-0 start and has not dropped a set this season."I think it's quite an accomplishment," Grace coach Deron Datzman said. "At the beginning of the year, I intended to play her at No. 2 singles. But about a week before the season was going to start, I lost my No. 1 singles player for the season. So I had no choice but to move her up."
That wasn't the only time Datzman's orginal plan for Stolle didn't work out. And on both occasions, the young lady from Troy, Ohio has paid huge dividends for the coach.
"I actually met Jessica through another recruit from Dayton (Ohio), and she let me know about Jess," Datzman admitted. "I actually lost that recruit, but landed a real good one."
The lost recruit was Kara Jackson, who opted to attend Lipscomb University in Tennessee, but Jackson did bring Stolle to Winona Lake.
"At first I wasn't sure I'd be coming here," Stolle said of her recruiting visit, which she took along with Jackson. "I was just going along with her to play with the girls and meet the coach. (Jackson and her mom) are the ones that talked about how great it would be for me."
With time, Stolle too began to believe Grace was the place for her after looking at other small colleges.
"It had a home-feeling to it and it was real pretty," Stolle said of the Grace campus.
Grace also appealed to Stolle because of its Christian values.
"I thought I'd like it because it's a Christian college," she said. "I liked the atmosphere, and liked the chance of growing closer to God."
So following her November visit to Grace, Stolle returned home to continue her high school career. Playing at Troy High School - a Division I school in Ohio, which is the largest division in the state - prepped Stolle for a college atmosphere.
"Her high school was actually bigger than Grace," Datzman said. "Grace College has about a 1,000-student enrollment, and her high school had about 1,400."
At Troy, Stolle went undefeated as a No. 3 singles player as a sophomore before losing six matches between her junior and senior years as the No. 2 singles player. But being a No. 2 singles player isn't like playing No. 2 in a small area school.
"In her high school's division, 2 singles is very competitive," Datzman said.
And it would appear so, as evident by her fast collegiate start.
"She has far exceeded my expectations," Datzman said. "I knew she would do well and be competitive in all her matches. I say that, because she's a consistent player from te back line, is patient and quick. That formula gives you the winning edge."
But even with those traits, Datzman didn't expect her to start the way she has.
"To say I'd predict she'd be 8-0, I don't know about that," the coach said.
And Stolle's play has helped the Lancers. During Datzman's first season at Grace in 2006, the Lancers recorded their first winning season at 6-5, while finishing fifth in the MCC with a 4-4 mark. Going into tonight's match at Spring Arbor, Grace holds a 5-3 season record, 2-3 in the MCC.
"Our team, this year, is very supportive and encouraging of each other," Datzman said.
And with his first recruit already doing so well, Datzman hopes the success just continues.
"Success tends to breed success," Datzman said. "I hope it continues to go this way."
