Columbia Duo Cherishing New Opportunities

From the Concrete Jungle to the Coffee Capital of the World

By: O’nalisa Hall

From the Big Apple to the “206”, tennis stars Jennifer Kerr and Melissa Sakar are in their first seasons as Huskies with over 10+ years of experience to bring to the program, and the past four together as teammates.

Kerr and Sakar both graduated from Columbia University in New York, New York. Kerr earned her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavior, while Sakar pursued her degree in Sustainable Development. In their first year as Huskies, Kerr is pursing postbaccalaureate studies and Sakar is working on a Masters of International Relations.

With similar program experience under their belts, both Kerr and Sakar expressed their gratitude for their time at Columbia; but their new experience at Washington has brought some fun changes.

“This is a much smaller team, so it’s easier to have everybody on the same page and to hold everybody accountable,” said Kerr, a native of Carlsbad, Calif. “You can form close relationships with the staff because you get to spend more time with them.

Sakar, originally from Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, echoed Kerr’s thoughts. “I find myself hanging around the athletics campus, going to the training room and chatting,” she said. “You can pop into the coaches’ offices and give them a chat. At Columbia, in New York City, there’s limited space so everything’s so far away. They did a great job trying to bring people together, but it’s the nature of New York City. It’s just a different experience.”

 

Despite both winding up at Washington, their paths diverged slightly. Sakar was first to commit to UW, knowing she had two years of eligibility, and finding in Seattle the right combination of competitive team and Master’s program. But it wasn’t until some months later that Sakar reached out and told Kerr that the Huskies had another spot open.

Kerr had been thinking her collegiate tennis days were done.

“I didn’t initially have plans to use my fifth year,” says Kerr, who had a brief period of time over the summer where she suddenly did not have tennis as a main focus anymore.

“Because of that bit of time (before committing to UW), every single day this year I just come in with a mindset of ‘swing free, don’t have any regrets, don’t try to protect anything, just play loose and trust…