Girls Tennis Player of the Year

Druker grows into top player for Raiders

By: Justin Feil
   Caitie Druker broke into The Hun School girls’ tennis lineup at the very bottom.
   Four years later she is graduating after a steady climb took her to the very top. She vaulted from third singles last year to first singles for the Raiders this fall.
   "She’s put in a lot of work," Hun coach Joan Nuse said. "She worked hard each year. She put in a lot of work outside of our courts on her own, working with trainers and coaches. That effort she put in allowed her to make the jump."
   Druker wasn’t sure such a jump was possible when she first debuted at second doubles. She began her freshman year playing with Gwen Birnkrant, then had to adjust to a new partner midway through the season due to injury. She remained at second doubles throughout that year, she and Alex Connell won a Mercer County Tournament gold medal, and she and Birnkrant went on to finish second in the Prep A state tournament.
   "From freshman to sophomore year, I made a huge jump," Druker said. "Over the summer between my sophomore to junior year, I made another big jump. Then last year, when I got hurt, I took a step backwards."
   After climbing to third singles as a sophomore, she remained there as a junior but her junior year was hampered by a sprained ulna collateral ligament in her right elbow.
   "I couldn’t even pick up a racket for over a month," Druker said. "When I first played with it, I couldn’t straighten my arm for a month. When I came back, I had to hit left-handed short court. When the doctor finally let me hit, I had to hit short court. Then I couldn’t hit an overhead volley or serve overhand."
   Druker bounced back from that injury to return this fall playing the best tennis of her career. She wasn’t confident she would earn the first singles spot this year after the hiccup in her development last year.
   "I knew it was going to be between Hillary Drewry and I," she said. "It could have gone either way. The match was so close."
   Druker secured the first singles spot for the Raiders and helped lead them to another MCT team title while placing third in the county individually. When it came to the Prep A tournament, she finished second as Hun finished runner-up to Lawrenceville.
   Druker put together a 14-4 record with her only losses coming at the hands of the MCT and Prep A champions. Druker lost to Pennington’s Adrienne Markison and to Lawrenceville’s Emma Levy twice apiece, but she was otherwise untouched in her first year at first singles for Hun. She and Hillary Drewry also went 4-1 in Mid-Atlantic Prep League doubles play.
   Caitie Druker is the Princeton Packet Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year.
   "I knew my senior year I would love to play No. 1 for the team," Druker said. "But even if I didn’t, I would have been happy because I got to play for the team. Tennis, it’s such a big deal to me."
   Druker started playing the game as a toddler, but got away from it early in elementary school. She came back to tennis and started getting serious about it as a seventh grader in the Hun Middle School. When she joined the Hun varsity as a freshman, her game and poise weren’t nearly what they are today.
   "My volleys and consistency have gone up so much. I’m so much more confident at the net. As a freshman, I was terrified at the net. I would back up when the ball was hit at my face. Having Angela and Lucy (DiPastina) and Nina (Liccardello) pound balls at my face in practice helped."
   Now it is Druker who is doing much of the pounding. It’s quite a change from when she started, just as her entire game has shaped up.
   "She’s really worked to round it out," Nuse said. "She added new dimensions to it. She goes to the net more often. She hits different shots, topspin or slice. She’s really a thinking player out there. As you get older, you develop those critical thinking skills. Her ability to think and analyze has improved throughout the time she’s been here so she makes wise decisions on the court."
   Druker’s steady development allowed her to rise to the cherished top spot in the lineup. It is one at Hun that has been occupied by familiar names from Nicole Arendt to Cassie Lawton to Angela DiPastina.
   "No. 1 is always hard," Nuse said. "Maybe because she’s been part of the program for so long, there may not have been as much pressure on her. And because she plays as much in the area as she does, she was familiar with who she was going to play."
   Druker had put more and more focus into tennis each year. After swimming and rowing as a freshman, Druker did rowing in addition to tennis as a sophomore before finally focusing year-round on tennis as a junior. She played more tournaments than ever to prepare for her senior year. Her dedication helped her climb the ladder at Hun and thrive in her biggest jump yet.
   "I knew even before the season started, before school started, I knew Lawrenceville would be so tough," Druker said. "I knew they were getting two really good players. I play with Emma all the time. She always beats me. Our matches were really close this year. I knew it was going to be tough."
   In putting herself in the position to play Levy, Druker accomplished her main goal for the year. It showed her how much her hard work had paid off. Before her junior year, she had attended five weeks of tennis camps. She spent the days before her senior year teaching tennis last summer and then hit with collegiate players from around the world. It helped her accomplish her objectives.
   "My main goal was to get the No. 1 singles spot on our team," said the Lawrenceville resident. "I knew it would be hard for me personally to win the Mercer County Tournament. I wanted to at least get second. I got third, but I’m happy with that. I’m really ecstatic the team won for the sixth year in a row. That’s awesome."
   It was also special to be one of all five Hun flights reach the Prep A finals. It was the fourth time she played in a state final. She won the third singles flight as a junior.
   "It definitely helped the team that she had the experience she did and had been successful," Nuse said. "The experience she had at doubles helped. Hillary was a new partner for her and it was a new experience for Hillary. Hillary didn’t play (MAPL matches) last year. If she didn’t have that experience, it might have been a more difficult transition."
   Druker is hoping to ease another transition after this year, her own to the collegiate level. She leaves behind a Hun team that has been a focal point for four years.
   "I’m very pleased with how we did this year," she said. "To win the Mercer County Tournament for the sixth year in a row, to get second in the MAPL league and second in states, is quite an accomplishment."
   They are nice parting gifts for Caitie Druker, who gave all that she could for four years of tennis at Hun. She exits after a steady bottom to top climb.
   "It’s great to watch her," Nuse said. "I had Caitie playing in middle school so I’ve really seen the evolution of her game and seen her confidence grow. It’s nice to see people move through the system."