Junior Cat Crummey has come a long way since picking up a tennis racket for the first time as a 4-year-old. The list of her accolades has grown since and it will continue to grow as the Knights take on many challenging competitors in the tail end of their season. The Loudonville, New York-native explained that she was influenced by her two elder sisters to start playing tennis. Crummey played only during the summer at first, but tennis quickly grew into more than just a seasonal, recreational sport for her. “When I became 10 years old, I realized that’s what I want to do,” she said. “So I started playing all year-round.”
Crummey qualified for the New York State high school championships five times. It was there that Crummey finished fourth and won the Sportsmanship Award as a senior. Her commendations go on, including playing team tennis in the 1B and 1A National Championships, where she beat a five-star recruit.
With regards to her career highlights, Crummey recalled her excitement in a national competition when she beat a tennis player in a national high school competition who now plays for the University of Oregon. “I was warming up and I thought, ‘This girl is going to kill me, she’s so good,’” Crummey said. “But I was playing really well that day. I won in a tiebreaker third set … I remember I walked off the court and I was crying—I was so happy.”
After high school, Crummey played for Division I University at Albany for two seasons before transferring to Geneseo. Crummey explained that she was drawn to Geneseo due to both its academics and the impressive reputation that head coach Jim Chen has built for his tennis team in Division III. Balancing Geneseo’s highly ranked tennis and academics is nothing Crummey can’t handle, however.
“I actually do better [academically] when I’m in season because you feel like you need to get your priorities straight,” she said. “It’s more of a schedule—it keeps you structured.” A math and business major, Crummey hopes to go to law school or to get her masters of business administration after college.
Over a month remains in the Knights’ schedule—the NCAA Tournament starts on May 8. The team will be going up against difficult competition to prepare for the even tougher competition in the Tournament. “The team’s main goal is to win the second round and to go on in the NCAA Tournament,” Crummey said. “My goal personally is to just go out and try my best and win all the matches I can.”
Crummey noted that she loves cheering her teammates on, stressing how winning a match isn’t just about getting a point as an individual, but rather for the team. That being said, Crummey still has her own matches to think about.
“When I’m on the court, I’ll fight until I don’t have anything left. I don’t want to lose,” Crummey said. “I will fight.”
Crummey will indeed fight as the Knights take on the University of Rochester at home on Thursday April 9.