Open Announce

Lobo Heroes: Jadon Phillips

The University of New Mexico Athletic Department is proud of all of our student-athletes that have worn the Cherry & Silver, but in this time of global crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are especially proud of our Lobos For Life that are on the front lines of this crisis.
 
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Before he ever stepped foot on the campus of The University of New Mexico, before he ever nailed a serve at the Estes Tennis Center, before he ever started a career that would see him become one of the most decorated Lobo Tennis players in school history, Jadon Phillips was a big deal.
 
There was huge recruiting buzz when Phillips, a native of Macon, Georgia, chose UNM over the likes of Michigan State and Georgia Tech, even moreso because he wasn’t in the best frame of mind on his visit all the way back in 2009. “I was in a bad mood,” he told a tennis recruiting reporter back then.
 
But Phillips, who knew as a seven-year old that playing baseball and track was important for his athletic future, couldn’t possibly have known that the work he was putting in at UNM as a member of the team would someday get him ready for the pressures of being on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Phillips is living in Denver, working at Rose Medical Center as an ICU Nurse.  There have been as of Tuesday, April 14 a total of 7,303 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Colorado.  Of those, 1,299 cases are in the Denver area, making it a hard-hit city.  And there is Phillips, former No. 1 tennis star for New Mexico, at the front of it all, doing what he can to combat the virus and help patients recover.
 
Current Lobo head coach Ben Dunbar was a teammate of Phillips and isn’t surprised to see Phillips doing what he can to help others. “Jadon has always been a selfless individual dating back to when I was on the team with him. He was the greatest teammate, always so positive and always putting in 100%.”
 
Phillips and his work on the court has always been a source of pride for the program, but now his work off the court has made it more so, as Dunbar points out. “The UNM Men’s Tennis team is so proud Of Jadon. He is fighting COVID-19 on the front lines in Denver and continuing his amazing trait of being selfless, now in a different setting. Jadon was one of the best to do it on the courts here at UNM and he grew so much in his time here, I couldn’t be happier to recognize him and his contribution to this fight.” 
 
Phillips played at UNM from 2009-13, graduating with a psychology degree. His 69 singles wins is good for 19th in school history, and his 56 doubles wins ties him for 30th.  He was a four-time Mountain West All-Academic selection, and he was both an ITA and a Mountain West Scholar-Athlete.  He was the 2010 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and he was named All-Mountain West four times in singles and three times in doubles.  He also won the 2013 Mountain Region Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.  He qualified for the NCAA doubles championships in 2012 with teammate Phil Anderson.
 
After his time at New Mexico, Phillips moved to Denver and attended Regis University, where he participated in an accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program.
 
His former teammate Dunbar sums it up best, when talking of what kind of person Jadon is.  “We thank you, Jadon, for being the kind of individual that runs towards the fight in moments of danger. You are an amazing human being! Go Lobos.”
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