Katie McGaffigan has been playing tennis since the she was 7-years old; the age most people begin learning to tie their shoes. Now, after all those years of hard work are starting to pay off.

She knocked off No. 34-ranked Aniela Mojzis of North Carolina in straight sets, and then defeated No. 13-ranked Tammy Encina of Tennessee. After these two impressive victories over highly ranked foes at the USTA/ITA Women’s Team Indoor Championships, she broke into the rankings for the first time in her career at No. 52.

“It (being ranked) was pretty exciting actually, especially starting off at 52,” McGaffigan said. “It was kind of a shock, and it was just exciting.”

Being ranked can sometimes mean you have a little more of a target on your back, but she is ready to handle the added pressure.

“I think when you are up against a ranked player, it is kind of like you know you’re playing someone tough,” McGaffigan said. “So, you’re more mentally prepared going into the match. You know they’re probably a fighter, and it is going to be a tough match.”

The Davenport, Iowa, native might have an advantage dealing with the pressure coming from such a big tennis family. It would be tough to find a family more involved with tennis than the McGaffigans.

“I have a sister that plays for Illinois, and [one] that plays for Indiana, and I have a younger one that plays as well,” McGaffigan said. ” [Also] my parents, they both played in college, and that is kind of where they met. So it’s kind of a family thing.”

With two of her sisters playing at other Big Ten schools, the time will come when they will have to face each other. However, the matchups have not happened just quite yet.

“I haven’t had to play against any of them yet, but this year I’m supposed to play against Jenny (Illinois). We’re both playing the same number in singles and doubles,” she said. “Our team has played Jenny’s in the past, and it has always been kind of weird. But I’ve never had to play against her, so it’s been okay. I’ve just kind of stayed away from that match a little bit.”

Since high school, McGaffigan has gotten the opportunity to team up with her older sister again, though. In the summer of 2002, they were able to win the ITA National Summer Doubles Championship together in Bloomington, Ind.

“It was a lot of fun. I felt like we had pretty good communication between the two of us,” said McGaffigan when asked about her doubles experience with Jenny. “Like I knew what she was thinking, she knew how I felt, and we kind of worked together pretty well. It was just fun playing with her because I never really get to. It was a good experience.”

Tennis is not the only thing that is important to McGaffigan, as evidenced by her Academic All-Big Ten selection.

“[Academics are] important. Academics always come first with the team. I think for our team, academics are pretty important,” said McGaffigan, who is majoring in mechanical engineering. “I know three team members had 4.0s last semester. Lexi Goldin, Lindsay Martin and Teresa Gonzaga all had 4.0s. The whole team shows it is important because I think we have [one of the] highest GPAs of all the teams.”

As an engineer, you might think it would be difficult for her to balance school and tennis, but McGaffigan doesn’t see much of a problem.

“It is tough with all the labs that we have for the engineering classes, but I think with any major it is tough to balance them (school and tennis),” she said.