University of Minnesota Athletics
First Serve With Jesse Sprinkel
9/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
For the next three weeks we will introduce you to the Gopher men's tennis incoming freshmen. We kick things off by meeting Jesse Sprinkel from Minneapolis, Minn. Sprinkel went undefeated during regular season play in his last his two years of high school tennis, was a singles finalist at the 2015 USTA Northern Sectional and a four-time USTA Northern Sectional doubles champion just to name a few of his accomplishments already.
Gopher Sports: What caught your eye about Minnesota and Gopher men's tennis?
Jesse Sprinkel: I visited a couple other schools and the thing that made me want to go to Minnesota was the combination between the team and also the coaches. I met all the guys on the team and they are all super cool. The coaches do a great job with this program and I think that shows with their success last year. Also the great academics here. It offered the highest level of tennis and academics that I found in all the schools I looked at.
GS: Can you talk about your previous tennis experience?
JS: Growing up I played in alot of USTA events both sectional and national and I think those really helped me get my game to where it is at. I also played high school tennis which is what brought in the team aspect of it. The level is obviously not comparable to the college level but I really think that sort of the team values that you learn playing high school tennis will carry over into college here. I was the captain my last two years of high school so I think that experience will be good.
GS: What do you love about the game of tennis?
JS: I really love the individuality of the sport. I think it is really cool how you have two people that are putting everything they have into it. It really brings out some raw emotions. You don't find that in a lot of sports. I think the really cool thing about tennis is you have someone on the other side of the net that wants to win just as bad as you. It is cool to just see two people go at it and that's what I really love.
GS: If you could play a tennis match with any celebrity, who would you choose and why?
JS: I would like to play Donald Trump because you can't talk your way out of a tennis match and I would like to see what he says when he is getting beat.
GS: Did you do anything fun and exciting this summer?
JS: It was cool to play this summer after already having committed and being done with school so you really have no pressure and can play loose out there. One tournament I played in was pretty cool. It was in New Haven, Conn., and actually Felix Corwin played in it as well. He played singles and I played doubles in it. If you won four matches there you got to play in the US Open. Obviously I did not win four matches but it was a really cool tournament. It was held while a women's pro tournament was being played there and so we kind of got the same treatment and stuff so that was really fun.
GS: Most excited for this school year and season?
JS: I am looking forward to the season. Especially the Big Ten season. That is always fun because there is some good rivalries and the crowds are fun. I think it will be fun to play in that atmosphere and see what this team can do. We are pretty young. We will have four freshmen by the time dual match season starts.
Players Mentioned
