Roland Embraces Hollywood

Hollywood High features one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation with more than 20 languages spoken and even more cultures represented on campus.

Jessica Roland fits right in.

“I kind of identify with everyone because I have a lot of mixed cultures,” Roland said. “I’m half Puerto Rican and the other half is a mixture of [Scottish], Irish, English, French and Armenian.

“When people ask me, I usually don’t want to explain everything. So I just say, ‘I’m a little bit of everything.’ ”

Including a tennis champion.

Roland, a senior, won her second consecutive City Section girls’ singles title Monday with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over freshman Yelena Olshanskaya of Fairfax. She is the first Hollywood girl to win two City championships in any sport.

Roland is ranked 34th in the nation in the 18-and-under age division by the U.S. Tennis Assn. Unlike many top junior players who bypass competing for their high school teams, Roland embraced the idea.

“The real big [junior] tournaments are always at the beginning of the year and over the summer, so playing for my school gives me some extra practice during the fall,” said Roland, who will attend Texas A&M; on a tennis scholarship.

“Some of the competition is not very good, but it really helped me being part of a team sport. That’s something you usually don’t get when you’re playing tennis because you’re out there by yourself. I also think it’s good preparation for when I go to college and have to be part of a team.”

Roland played T-ball and participated in swimming as a child before she started playing tennis. The hand-eye coordination she developed in T-ball served her well on the tennis court. The game felt natural from the beginning, she said, and eventually led to an unexpected journey into junior tournaments.

“I don’t come from a tennis family,” she said. “We kind of just fell into it.”

Hollywood High has a rich athletic tradition, but the school has struggled to produce league and section champions as its population has grown more diverse and transient.

Roland, however, never considered transferring to a school with a traditionally strong tennis program.

“I really like to have a life outside of tennis and a lot of that is going to school with your friends who don’t participate in the sport you play,” she said. “I just went with the flow and went to the same elementary and middle school and high school that I was supposed to go to.

“Playing for Hollywood High has been a great experience.”