Boca Raton’s O’Loughlin makes her move

Published April 13th, 2008

By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

Julia O’Loughlin has been on the tennis court practically since she came into the world 11 years ago.

“We were living in Louisville, KY. and we put our daughter in a portable crib on the side of the court, and Julia would insist on getting out of that crib and being on the court with us,” her father Michael O’Loughlin said.  “And she would scream and yell and holler until she got onto the court with us.”

At age 2, Julia finally was able to get onto the court, and at age 6, she started playing in tournaments – and winning.

“When she was 2 she was able to serve from the baseline all the way over the net,” her mother Natalie said. “She had the strength in her upper half from the get-go.”

Michael estimates Julia now has “70 or 80” trophies in their home from the various events she’s won.

Genetics had something to do with it, as Natalie played at the University of Connecticut. The other part of her ascent has been a work ethic that Coach Jai Dilouie said is second to none.

“She’s a very, very good student,” he said. “She’s a very good competitor.

She listens and she pushes herself, which is unusual for girls her age.”

As Julia dominated opponents in Louisville and then in Boulder, Colo. – where Michael relocated the family when he got a job at Lucent Technology – the breadth of her talent became undeniable.

“The tennis wasn’t that great for her, she was getting older, so we moved to Denver and spent four years in Denver,” he said.

Deciding that his daughter needed better competition again, Michael moved the family a fourth time to Boca Raton a year-and-a-half ago.

So far, it’s a move that has agreed with the whole family.

“I love being down here,” Julia said. “It’s warm all the time so I can play all the time.”

Last September, Julia tried out for and was accepted into the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Junior Development program, where former professional players coach the students. The program is funded by donations, and the facility is located on the grounds of the Chris Evert Academy.

When Julia found out she had been accepted, she said, “It was very exciting. I went down to Key Biscayne, and I just played for a little while.”

Dilouie remembered her tryout, saying, “She hit the ball quite cleanly and has a good tennis build.”

Indeed, in her second round match last Monday against good friend and doubles partner Ally Miller-Kraslinsky, who O’Loughlin beat 6-1, 6-0, Julia towered over her much smaller opponent.

She is already almost 5-foot-10 inches tall at 11 years of age, and she is still growing.

“She’s grown so fast and she’s such a big girl,” Dilouie said. “She’s way ahead of her ability to control her movements.”

O’Loughlin is such a prodigy that her wardrobe, a black dress with white trim, was sponsored by Down the Line, who Michael said outfits her with tennis clothes for each meet. Head also provides her with racquets and equipment.

Julia’s favorite player is Ana Ivanovic, who plays the type of game Julia envisions for herself.

“She wants to be an all-court player and she can be,” Dilouie said.

With O’Loughlin’s size and power already apparent, Dilouie has tried to work with her on movement and flexibility. He said she also has to learn to open her stance more on her forehand.

In her age group, O’Loughlin, who recently turned 11, is ranked No. 43 by the USTA.

But most of the girls ahead of her will be moving up to the Under 14 age group, so Dilouie and Michael both say she will probably be one of the top players in the Under 12 division next year. Julia advanced to the third round of the Orange Bowl, an international event, last year, and she won a round at the Spring 12s. Tuesday, her run in the main draw of this year’s Spring 12s ended after two wins with a 7-5, 6-1 loss to No. 5 seed Keisha Clousing of Wheaton, IL.

Thursday, she was eliminated from the event altogether after a 6-1, 7-5 loss to No. 17 Peggy Porter of Dallas.

Off the court, O’Loughlin is enrolled in the Florida Virtual School and takes classes online. She skipped second grade and is currently in sixth grade. As part of her coursework this year, O’Loughlin is taking a seventh grade math class.

Despite the demands of school and tennis, O’Loughlin still finds time for fun.
“She’s always drawing happy faces on the clay court,” Dilouie said.Natalie has taken a job with flexible hours so she can be there for Julia’s tennis activities, and Michael plans to start his own business so he can have more time to spend with her also.

Natalie and Michael said they were caught by surprise by how good a player Julia has become, and they make tennis trips a family affair. Michael recently bought a 37-foot SUV with a motorcycle on the back so the family can camp out at Julia’s tennis tournaments.

“It’s just a more fun way to go than staying in and staring at the hotel room,” Michael said with a laugh.

Julia made her national television debut on the Oprah Winfrey Show Tuesday in a profile about the Martina Navratilova-Chris Evert rivalry.

During the segment, video footage of Evert training students was aired, with O’Loughlin one of those Evert is training in the clip.

If O’Loughlin has her way, it will be the first of several television appearances. O’Loughlin’s goal is to be the No. 1 tennis player in the world, but Dilouie has more modest achievements in mind for his young protégé.