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Like so many journeys, Jamie Loeb's road to Roland Garros began in upstate New York. The Bronxville-born, Ossining-raised high school and college champion (for the University of North Carolina) played her first professional tournament in the unsung paradise that is Buffalo. Just 16 in the summer of 2011, Loeb qualified for the $10,000 ITF-level clay event and won her first two matches, before falling to fellow collegiate star Danielle Collins.
But that wouldn't be the last time Loeb made the scenic drive along the 290 to Sheridan Drive, no. She heard The Nickel City's siren song the following summer, returned to the bucolic suburb of Williamsville, and won the tournament in singles and doubles. Clay, like Buffalo itself, is a fit for anyone who embraces its natural grit.
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