#AdvantageJake: Griz shave heads to support teammate with cancer
4/2/2023 5:18:00 PM | Men's Tennis
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By: Montana Sports Information
On March 12, Montana freshman Jake Watkins was on the tennis court at the Peak Racquet Club, helping his Grizzly teammates to a pair of nonconference wins over Lewis-Clark State.
 It was a fun day for the Griz, with plenty of playing time and wins for everyone. The kind of day that, as a student-athlete, you love. The chance to play your favorite sport with your friends and feel the joy of victory.
 Watkins was good on the court that day, too, cruising to a win in doubles and going 1-1 in singles, battling his way through a pair of three-setters as the Griz swept the doubleheader.
 But something was off. Some kind of stomach pain, or so he thought. He didn't quite feel sick, but at the same time didn't feel 100 percent. So, he powered through.
 After the match, he returned to being a college student. A pre-med and biochemistry major on a Provost Honors Scholarship, schoolwork, and tennis keep him plenty busy.
 But as the following week wore on, the lower abdominal pain he was feeling didn't go away. It just kept getting worse and worse. Finally, after four days of increasing pain, Jake's older brother and tennis teammate, Josh Watkins, took him to the emergency room at St. Pat's hospital in Missoula.
 The next day he had surgery to remove his ascending colon, which contained a mass. It didn't take doctors long to figure out what the issue was.
 Cancer.
 Four days later, Watkins was officially diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive and fast-growing blood cancer rare in adults and especially rare in healthy, athletic college kids.
 The good news, however, is that with equally aggressive chemotherapy, the cancer is treatable, with over 90% of patients experiencing complete remission.
 As you'd expect with any cancer diagnosis, the news hit the Watkins family hard. But they're fighting back even harder.
 Jake WatkinsJake already has his brother Josh in town with him, and his parents plan on visiting from Whitefish often as he sets out on a chemo cycle that will likely drag on for months.
 But he also has one more powerful tool in his corner as he gets set to begin the fight against cancer. His teammates, coaches, and the extended tennis community.
 On Monday, April 3, Watkins will begin his first round of chemo, and it's no walk in the park. The Magrath regimen of chemotherapy will put him through 10 to 18-day cycles with seven to 10 days rest in between, with at least five days in the hospital with a continuous IV. That, on top of staying up to date with his classes, means he's in for a fight.
 That's where his teammates come in.
 On Saturday, the Montana men's tennis team showed up at practice during its bye week with a small showing of their support for Watkins as he prepares to battle cancer.
 To a man, the other nine members of the squad arrived at the courts with shaved heads. A token of solidarity for their friend, teammate, and brother, to let him know he's not alone as he begins chemo.
 Advantage, Jake.
 "It just makes me feel so loved, and it makes me feel like those guys would do anything for me, and they've got my back. I feel so blessed to have teammates and coaches like that who are so supportive and are just there for me every step of the way. I know I can count on those guys if I need anything at all and know they would help me out in an instant," said Watkins.
 "I had no idea they were going to do it either. When I saw them, it just felt great. Having that community and having those guys battling for me and knowing they're with me while I'm going through this just means everything to me. It's amazing. I couldn't ask for better teammates."
 For a collegiate coach of any sport, part of the goal, part of the mandate, is to develop young men and women into future leaders using the lessons that can only be learned on a court, field, or in a gym.
 So when the news of Watkins' illness spread around the team, and the players decided to shave their heads, it gave head coach Jason Brown the pause to realize that, no matter the win/loss record, he's doing something right with these Grizzlies.
 "They're just such class acts. I feel like they've shown up to support Jake in better ways than I could even imagine at their age," said Brown.
 "Anytime something like this happens, it makes you deal with your own mortality a little bit, and it's really scary. It's scary for Jake, for the people who care about him, and obviously incredibly scary for his family. I think all of the guys have just met this challenge head-on in such a classy, 'we'll get through this together' kind of way.
 As a lymphoma survivor himself, Brown has a unique perspective on Watkins' illness, a fact that only serves to strengthen the community that surrounds him while he undergoes the fight.
 "You feel really helpless, but I will say the only good thing about having gone through something similar at a much later age than him is that I know a little bit about what he's experiencing and can sort of try to coach him through this. I have some ideas about what his treatment protocol is going to look like and how he's going to feel," said Brown.
 "That's the only part of this I feel sort of equipped to help with, which is wonderful, honestly."
 Despite the challenge ahead, Watkins won't miss a beat at school, either. With a compromised immune system, he'll continue to attend class but will do so remotely, with the UM faculty's support.
 Who knows, for a guy who wants to one day become a surgeon, the whole process could be considered a learning experience.
 But there is still work to do, battles to fight against an aggressive form of cancer and the aggressive chemotherapy designed to snuff it out.
 It will be taxing, to be sure. But with his teammates by his side and the UM community behind him, he's already on the road to recovery.
 "They're all they're all such good dudes, and Jason's been incredible through this as well," said Watkins.
 "Honestly, going through this has really showed me this is the right place for me. With all the support I've received, it really does show me that Montana is this is the right spot for me."
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