Jimin also playing collegiate tennis

Former CNMI No. junior netter Jimin Woo is the latest local tennis player plying his trade in the NCAA as he’s currently playing in the men’s tennis varsity team of Ithaca College, a Division 3 school.

“I made varsity a few months before I went to college. I did not plan to play college tennis when I was applying to school, but one of the schools that I wanted to go to had a decent team that I could make so I emailed the coach and he liked my videos and recruited me,” said the clinical health studies major.

Woo, who finished his first season with the Bombers with a singles record of 2-8 and a doubles record of 6-8, said so far he’s been managing studying in college and playing NCAA tennis at the same time.

“Balancing sports and academics have been pretty easy for me because tennis relaxes my mind and keeps my time management on check. We train five times a week for two hours a day.”

Woo said his most memorable game so far in his two years of college tennis was when he and his partner Siddarth Reddy beat a Division 3 nationally ranked top 20 doubles team.

The 19-year-old, however, will have to put his college studies and NCAA tennis career on hold for a bit as he will not be playing next season to serve in the Korean military for 1 1/2 years.

His advice for would be student-athletes pining to play in college, “A tip would be to just don’t be afraid to email coaches.”

Woo is the son of Kyungja Hwang and Bongchun Woo and his older sister, Melody, attends Yonsei University.

According to the internet, Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), outside Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and gorges.

Ithaca College is known for the Roy H. Park School of Communications. The college has a liberal arts focus, and offers several pre-professional programs, along with some graduate programs.