Meet the Member: Chris Jazwa

Where are you from and what brought you to the Reno/Tahoe area?

I was born in New Jersey and grew up in Pennsylvania, but have moved a lot since then. I went to Harvey Mudd College in Southern California before moving to the University of Rhode Island for my Masters degrees and back to Penn State University for my PhD. I also lived in Oregon for a couple years in the middle. I moved to Reno in 2016 when I was hired to teach at UNR in the Anthropology Department. Of all the places I have lived, I like Reno the best because it isn’t too big of a city and there are tons of options for things to do in nature. 

What’s your tennis story? How did you get started and what keeps you going? 

I started playing when I was in high school. I mostly taught myself how to play by watching the pros on TV. When I was 16, I switched to a one handed backhand to be like Pete Sampras, even though my game is nothing like his! I played Division III tennis for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Southern California for four years in college. I was a bench warmer for one of the best teams in the country, but it was an unforgettable experience. I got to practice every day with incredible players, some of whom won NCAA national championships. I got to play maybe 15 matches in my four years, but it made me a much better player. I first got into USTA team tennis when I lived in Oregon, then played for the Penn State club team while I was in grad school. Since moving to Reno, I’ve been playing a lot more USTA tennis. Playing on teams is so much more rewarding and enjoyable for me than competing as an individual. I’ve had a roller coaster relationship with tennis throughout my life. Sometimes, I want to play every day, but other times I need a long break. 

What is another favorite hobby other than tennis?

I love hiking, which is one of the reasons Reno is such a great place to live. As an archaeologist, I often get to go outside and hike a lot as part of my fieldwork. I enjoy traveling and I usually try to add time at the beginning or end of my research trips to explore new places. I also get a ski pass for Mt. Rose every year. 

Who are your favorite professional tennis players? Why? 

Growing up, I was a big Pete Sampras fan. I tried to model my game after him, but it ended up very different. I always really respected his mental game. I was also a fan of Henman in the 90s. Once I got older, I followed guys like Federer, Wawrinka, Gasquet, and the Bryan brothers. My favorite current player is Rajeev Ram. On the women’s side, I liked players like Kournikova, Kuznetsova, Stosur, Azarenka, and Mattek-Sands.

I’ve noticed that I start to like a lot of the players who I rooted against for most of their careers when they get toward the end. As a Sampras fan, I rooted against Agassi, but at the end, I wanted to see him win. All the struggles he went through really resonate with me. 

Any fun plans for the summer?

This summer, my plans are a combination of family vacations and work trips. In May, I went to La Paz, Mexico for a couple weeks with students to sort shellfish and fish, marine mammal, and marine turtle bones from archaeological sites I excavated last year in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico. At the end of June, I’ll be on Santa Rosa Island in California for a week to survey for archaeological sites after the recent fire. I’ve also got a trip to Phoenix planned to visit my parents for the fourth of July, a trip to Tahoe for a family lake house trip with my wife’s family in July, and a trip to Catalina Island with my wife for a “babymoon” before our second child is born. I’m also playing 4.5 18s men’s and 9.0 40s mixed USTA leagues, of course!

Can you tell us about your family, pets, etc.?

My wife, Kaitlyn, is also an archaeologist and a forensic anthropologist. She works for a private company that does salvage work on archaeological sites before they are going to be destroyed by construction. Whenever they find human remains, she’s the person they call!

I have an 18-month-old daughter Rowan. She’s super happy and outgoing. She is pretty athletic, so I’m looking forward to teaching her tennis in a couple years! My wife and I have a son due at the beginning of October, so we’re looking forward to big changes.

We have two cats, a 7-year-old orange long hair named Rosie and a 4-year-old black and white short hair named Joxer. Like Rowan, Joxer is also super athletic, but his lack of opposable thumbs has really hurt his tennis.

 Can you share about your occupation? 

I am an archaeologist and a professor in the Anthropology Department at UNR. I teach introductory courses in archaeology, upper-level laboratory courses, and graduate level seminars. I currently advise six graduate students.

I’m fortunate in that I get to travel to do my research. I currently have active field projects in Channel Islands National Park in California (since 2004), Cabo Pulmo National Park on the Baja Peninsula, Mexico (since 2018), and in the Loukkos River Valley in Morocco (since 2017). My research is focused on understanding human settlement in coastal environments and how it responded to both natural and human-caused environmental change. In California and Mexico, that is focused on hunter-gatherer populations, but the project in Morocco is on the Roman period. 

At UNR, I have a lab focused on isotope ecology, including tests for past climates, past human diets, and radiocarbon dating. In addition to my main field projects, I have also published research from Western Australia, Greece, England, Rhode Island, and the Great Basin including Nevada and Oregon. 

I like to call it my past life, but in my Master’s program from 2005-2009, I did underwater archaeology, both with SCUBA and using high-tech methods like sonar and remote operated vehicles. I had the opportunity to be a part of some really fun projects including surveying for shipwrecks! 

Any other fun information you would like to share about yourself? 

One of my favorite events in Reno is the Great Reno Balloon Race. I am part of a team that has sponsored balloons for more than 30 years! I’ve been part of it for the last eight years. Right now, we sponsor and help crew two Dawn Patrol balloons, Dee IV and Plaid Pixie, and the past several years, we also sponsored Jester Unwindz. It is a crazy four days of waking up at 4 AM, but I wouldn’t miss it for just about anything. It’s one of the best weekends of the year in Reno!