Beyer’s Jacques is Stanislaus District’s girls tennis Player of the Year for third consecutive season

Beyer High School junior Symone Jacques hopes to one day become a cardiac surgeon.

Seems apropos for a player who will cut out your heart on the tennis court.

In 2014, Jacques won her third consecutive regular-season title in the Modesto Metro Conference, a second straight MMC tournament title and advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals.

For her performance, Jacques has been named the Stanislaus District’s girls tennis Player of the Year for a third consecutive season.

Next season, Jacques will have the opportunity to win a fourth consecutive Player of the Year award, and she has her sister, Jacqueline, to thank.

Jacqueline was a back-to-back winner of The Bee’s award during her sophomore and junior seasons and seemed a virtual lock to make it three in a row. But she decided against playing tennis as a senior, opening the way for Symone to win the award in 2012.

“We’re competitive, but that’s simmered down a bit now,” Jacques said. “We’re sisters, and each of us wants to be the best. But she left the door open for me as a freshman, and I thank her for that because I was able to one-up her.”

Jacques has no intention of leaving the door open for anybody next season. After posting a 35-1 regular-season mark in the MMC the past three seasons, her goal is to win the MMC regular-season and tournament titles while going undefeated. She’ll be challenged by Gregori’s Madison McKay, who has teamed to win the section doubles title the past two seasons, and Beyer teammate Carmen Fallon, a freshman who fell to Jacques in the MMC tournament final.

“I don’t want to lose anything next season,” said Jacques, who didn’t drop a set in league. “Even in sections.”

Jacques has reached the section semifinals the past two seasons but failed to advance further. Two years ago, she battled an infection that made it all but impossible for her to move her head side to side. Next season, the goal is a section championship.

“I need to go into the tournament not worrying about who’s seeded No. 1 or who’s seeded No. 2,” said Jacques, who’s ranked 47th in Northern California by the USTA and No. 44 in the state. “That got into my head last year.”

Know what else gets into Jacques’ head? Just about everything, her teachers say.

Jacques carries a 4.6 weighted grade-point average with a course schedule that’s loaded with advanced placement classes. Jacques said her dream college is UC Santa Barbara, but at this point she’d probably have to walk on to the team. A more likely option is Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego.

Additionally, Jacques is involved with Key Club, Speech and Debate, Mock Trial, Science Olympiad and Academic Decathlon.

In the summer, she’ll be on the court four hours a day, six days a week, not to mention her thrice-weekly gym sessions that last about 45 minutes each.

“I’m probably a stress case,” admits Jacques, who goes to bed at about 11:30 p.m. and rises around 4:30 a.m. “I don’t have a lot of free time, but I like being busy.”

She also likes being left-handed, something that gives her an advantage over the vast majority of her opponents.

“The strongest part of my game is probably being left-handed,” Jacques said. “My spin is going the opposite way for most right-handers. I don’t like playing left-handers.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2015 at 6:16 AM with the headline "Beyer’s Jacques is Stanislaus District’s girls tennis Player of the Year for third consecutive season."