2007 BCR Tennis Player of Year
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| Princeton senior Laura Krabill was all smiles after becoming just the fifth Princeton girl to qualify in singles for state tennis. (Photo for the BCR) |
PRINCETON — Laura Krabill was unhappy about not make the state tennis tournament in 2006 as a junior, so she went out and did something about it.
She found out a lot of hard work and sweat, that comes from a lot of hours in the hot summer heat, paid off. Krabill took her game to the next level, improving so much she had an outstanding NCIC senior season and landed herself a spot at the state tournament.
And she played herself to the top as the 2007 BCR Tennis Player of the Year.
“After not making state a year ago, all I wanted to do was work to get a chance to play at state,” Krabill said. “I put so much focus on that in the offseason, and I was able to reach my goal of playing at state.”
A big part of getting to state was the mental preparation needed to understand her opponent and making the necessary adjustments needed to succeed.
“Laura is a very patient player,” Princeton coach Connie Lind said. “She has such a drive to win, and she can make the changes needed to win.”
Perhaps the best way to describe the necessary changes was at the NCIC Meet at Sterling in the second round match.
“I played against this girl from Ottawa before, and I know that she really likes to play the baseline, and she rarely ever hits into errors,” Krabill said. “She beat me pretty easily 6-2 in the first set and had me down 4-2 in the second. Then, I started playing her game and brought her close to the net and won 6-4, 6-0 to win the match.”
That was really a defining moment for Krabill, according to Lind, as she watched her senior fight back to win.
“She really took that Ottawa girl out of her game in that second set,” Lind said. “She likes to move people around and will be extremely patient until she gets the shot she wants, like she did that day.”
With her fourth-place finish a week later at regional play in Ottawa, Krabill achieved one of her goals that she set for herself at the beginning of the year. She was headed to state.
In both of her matches at state, Krabill won the first set before being defeated.
“Obviously, I would have liked to advance further, but considering the wind conditions, that day, I am very happy with the way I played,” Krabill said.
Krabill lost 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 to Katie Callahan of Newman and then 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to Laurie Crippers of Paris with a 40-mile per hour constant wind.
“Laura would never make excuses, but to tell you how bad that wind was, it blew over one of those porta potties and moved it 15 feet,” Lind said. “At state there are no ad games, and each of her matches every game went to deuce with the next point winning. She got her money’s worth at state as she started at 9:30 a.m. and finished at 3 p.m.”
By going to state, Krabill accomplished became just the fifth girl to qualify for state in singles.something that had only been.
“To only be the second person to ever get there is amazing,” Krabill said. “The experience is something that I will never forget.”
Krabill finished with a record of 21-14 overall and 6-2 in the NCIC. Now, after graduating in the spring, Krabill will venture off to tennis at Goshen College in Indiana.
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