He fools people into thinking he’s a bit of a comedian and describes himself as slightly immature at times, but there is nothing immature about sophomore Ikaika Jobe as soon as he steps on to the tennis courts.
The Honolulu, Hawaii, native was named the co-Conference USA Player of the Month after going undefeated during the entire month of September.
Jobe’s 6-0 campaign was highlighted by winning the Ball State Invitational on Sept. 29 in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Western Michigan’s Ryan Maarchalk in the championship round of the “A” singles draw.
For Jobe, winning the tournament was one of his most outstanding accomplishments in his collegiate career. During his freshman year, Jobe participated in the tournament but was eliminated in the second round of play.
“I had to play very well for three days against some very good players,” Jobe said. “I never got to do much practicing before the tournament because I was flying (for his aviation major) a lot. I didn’t expect to do that well, it was very exciting.”
The thrill of the tournament was one that Jobe wasn’t even sure he would get the chance to experience.
During his senior year of high school, Jobe suffered from tendonitis in his shoulder and was forced to slow down his serve and not play with as much tenacity as he was accustomed to.
“I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to play college tennis,” Jobe said. “I played my senior year of high school, but I didn’t really hit my serve well, and I pretty much laid off of tennis as much as I could.”
Jobe spent the offseason in therapy instead of on the tennis courts and began his freshman year as a Billiken with the injury still lingering.
Jobe started the season in the No. 2 singles slot and worked his way to his current No. 1 spot, compiling a record of 17-5 and picking up key wins over Marquette’s Troy Delmege and University of Alabama’s Andre van der Merwe in the Conference USA Invitational.
This year, Jobe continues to dominate against the most skilled players in college tennis. Most recently, Jobe participated in the ITA All-American Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn., along with doubles partner Lance Vodicka.
“This was the first time our school sent any players to the tournament,” Jobe said. “It’s the biggest tournament in college play and it usually has the top people from different schools.”
Jobe and Vodicka were selected after coach Jonathan Zych submitted their names for review by a committee, based on their ranking and their record from last season.
Jobe won his first three matches of the event, defeating North Carolina’s Greg Archer in a 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 (tiebreaker) first round decision, followed by a 6-4, 6-4 win against Andrew Rogers from Furman.
Jobe’s final triumph came over Michael Kuiecein of Winthrop in a 7-5, 6-4 match before exciting the tournament after a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Baylor’s Ivor Loverake.
For Jobe, the ITA tournament provided the kind of experience necessary to achieve his goals for the season.
“I want to contribute to the team and get the team nationally ranked, which would be for the first time in school history, and I’d like to be ranked nationally as an individual,” Jobe said.
“We’re pretty close, and we’ve got a pretty tough schedule. We’re going to be playing some tough teams and we’ll have a chance to break through,” he continued.
This weekend, the men’s tennis team will play in the Omni Hotels Central Regional in Tulsa, Okla., which is expected to feature highcaliber players from the around the Midwest.
