Annalise Klopfer attains All-Big East first team after abbreviated season
PHILADELPHIA (BVM) — It was a truly miserable day for the end of a season. Following a rain delay the day before, the Villanova women’s team returned to the windy Cayce, S.C. courts just to be ushered off in short order. Their Big East Tennis Championships opponent DePaul secured the doubles point the day before and cruised to a 4-1 victory before too long. The decisive result prevented two singles matches from reaching their conclusion.
That one consolation match, the one silver lining from an otherwise early end to an already abbreviated season came courtesy of junior Annalise Klopfer. The Navy-transfer faced a 3-1 deficit in the second set, but, just as she has continued to do all season, Klopfer found a way to win. Through the cancellations and the complications induced by transferring, Klopfer excelled to a 15-6 combined record in her first year as a Wildcat.
Adjusting to a schedule packed with cancellations poses a significant challenge, but difficulty is not new for someone who chose to enroll as a student-athlete at the Naval Academy. A four-star recruit out of high school, Klopfer still only began as the No. 3 singles player for the Midshipmen. The freshman bounced around the lineup but largely remained in this position throughout the year. A 12-5 record is nothing to scoff at, but Klopfer thirsted for more.
Coach Keith Puryear’s decision to demote the sophomore to the No. 4 position came as a surprise, but Klopfer refused to dwell on the problem. Instead, she did the only thing that could change his mind: win and win a lot. She opened the season on a 10-match winning streak in singles, climbing the lineup before ultimately cementing her position at the top. A well-deserved Most Valuable Player award from the team capped off her sophomore season, but again Klopfer was restless.
Amidst an unprecedented health crisis, the rising junior traded the comfort of her two-year home in Annapolis for the foreign suburbs of western Philadelphia. Introduced at the No. 1 position for the Wildcats, Klopfer struggled to unearth the form she had attained a season prior. The junior started the season with only one singles win in the first three matches as the team crawled to a 1-2 record.
Then came two consecutive weeks of cancellations. Uncertainty over the season embedded itself with the anxiety from adjusting to a new school, a new city, and a new social environment. When the matches returned, there was one thing Klopfer had learned to do: win. Klopfer powered Villanova to a No. 3 seed in the Big East Tennis Championships, earning herself unanimous All-Big East first-team honors.
Now, coming into her senior year, Klopfer has little left to prove. Given the past 18 months, predicting the future is a fool’s errand. However, if there is one thing to know for sure about Klopfer in the next year, she will be winning.
