Second-year separation dominates Liberty League tennis

Sophomore tennis star Taylor Crain was a freshman phenom last season. He had 146 singles records, 127 doubles records and took home the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. This season he has taken his dominance to another level and is making sure everyone in the Liberty League knows and fears that his name is on the match sheet.

Crain currently boasts 112 singles singles records, including an opener with 60 against Rochester Institute of Technology. Crains’ doubles record has also been a point of pride for him this season. Together with senior captain Caroline Herz, Crain has been able to reach a record 113 in doubles play.

Crain started playing tennis in second grade and comes from a line of former tennis players, including his father and grandfather. Crain said they both encouraged him to play sports, and tennis was the one that stuck.

My dad tried to expose me to a lot of different sports, so I tried tennis and eventually I liked it and was pretty good at it, Crain said. I continued playing from there and started competing in middle school.

Crain has had a successful high school career, including being a three-time New York State Section II doubles champion. He is still humble and went so far. like to say that he lost a lot in his high school years. However, head coach Chris Hayes ’16 said when he recruited him, he could tell right away that Crain was a special player.

“The first time I saw Taylor play was at the New York state tournament and she was in doubles, and at first it was really appealing to me,” Hayes said. He was a good doubles partner, which is really important at the college level. As a coach, you know who is a player and who is not, and you can tell right away that Taylor was a baller.

Crain originally planned to compete for another program, but later changed course to play for the Bombers. Crain said he knew he would have tough competition in the Liberty League and felt good about joining the team at South Hill.

I was going to attend Providence College, but I knew I was coming [to Ithaca College] that I could play, and the Liberty League is strong, Crain said. I knew I was going to get good competition and I had a gut feeling that this was the place for me.

Crain made an immediate impact in his first season and even though it seemed to come out of nowhere, those close to the team knew he was going to blow up the league despite the odds.

“I knew Taylor was going to play for us, but I wasn’t sure where our expectations were because he suffered a serious leg injury in the fall,” Hayes said. He took the whole league by storm and it opened my eyes, Wow, he’s special to beat Skidmore [College] In the beginning of March [2022]. From that moment on it looked like he’s the real deal and when he walks out we expect to get that spot, you expect one point from Taylor in that match.

Crain is often very competitive on the court expressive and emotional in the heat of the moment. Crain said that attitude on the court not only contributes to his success, but he does to energize the team.

I’m pretty loud, pretty fiery, but I try not to get too high and too low, which I definitely did the first year, Crain said. I am proud to bring good energy to the team. As much as tennis is individual, if we want to win, we have to do it with everyone and I want my team to do well. I have to remind myself to keep good energy for my teammates and that motivates me the most.

Herz, Crains’ doubles partner, said it’s clear Crains’ effort to boost teams has worked. Herz said Crain brings a bright personality to the team and that when Crain does well, so does the rest of the team.

He is confident and has brought a new personality to our team, Herz said. She has one of the strongest personalities I have ever met and is so much fun to be around because she always brings positive energy and everyone feeds off of that. You can definitely tell if he’s not all there, the teams aren’t there because his energy is so strong. Her personality lights up a room.

Despite Crains early accomplishments and positive impact on the team, Herz said Crain is humble and tends to put his head down and work. Herz said that often after a game, Crain doesn’t acknowledge how well he played while everyone else looks on in awe.

He knows he’s really good, but he gets a little humbled when people bring it up, Herz said. After the big win, I say, I did ALRIGHT and say well, no, you just won the best girl in the league. It will be interesting to see how much he has developed since I met him freshman year. It’s crazy.

With so much success in his first two seasons, Hayes said anything is possible and Crain has yet to reach his full potential.

Taylor’s ceiling is an All-American, there’s no doubt about it, Hayes said. He’s got the determination, the fight and the ability to get to that level, but he’s having an exceptional spring and I think he’s just scratching the surface.