Kaitlyn Snyder had already beaten her sectional opponent, Abigail Hodson of Carl Junction, earlier this year. But she wasn’t about to let over-confidence become a problem.
“I knew that I had beat her before, but that didn’t matter to me. I still wanted to take this match really seriously,” Snyder says. “If I would have just blew it off … it would have maybe not been so good, so I prepared like any other match and came to win.”
It was clear from the start that Snyder came to win, and she cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the sectional playoff round at Joplin Athletic Center. Snyder overpowered Hodson on some points, and ran her from sideline to sideline on others, dropping only one game in the second set, after the outcome was all but a foregone conclusion.
With the win, Snyder returns to the state tournament, fulfilling one of her pre-season goals.
”I’m very excited. I’d love to place, or to get to the final four,” she says.
The state tournament is a little over a week away, and Snyder says she’s glad to have the extra time.
”This gives me time to prepare and make sure I’m hitting with the right people and getting all my reps in,” she says.
State will be held at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
