It was hot, and Jill Craybas was exhausted.
Thirty years ago, in the 1996 NCAA Women’s Singles final against top-seeded Kylie Hunt (Kansas), Craybas was pushed to the brink as the two split sets under the relentless Tallahassee sun. Craybas, the tournament’s No. 4 seed representing her Florida Gators, dropped the opening set, 7-5, and rallied in the second, 6-3, to force a winner-take-all third set in the title match.
Craybas caught her breath at the changeover, and Florida head coach Andy Brandi sensed her fatigue.
“I just remember Andy walking on the court,” Craybas recently told the ITA. “We split sets and he was like, ‘You’ve got this. She is so tired.’ And I just looked at him and I was like, ‘Andy, I’m so tired. I’m so tired.’ But, he just gave that little boost.”
It was enough of a boost to get by.
Craybas prevailed in the third set, 6-3, to put the finishing touches on the singles title. She was, at last, the best women’s tennis player in the country. The clinching point still lives in her mind.
“I had come in, and she hit this massive lob and I was like, ‘OK, I just have to make this overhead.’ I just let it bounce and then that was it. I kind of just fell back exhausted.”
It capped a remarkable showing for the Gators while at Florida State, the host of the 1996 NCAA Championships, who had swept the team, singles and doubles championship titles. She became the third Gator in program history to win the singles crown, joining Shaun Stafford (1988) and Lisa Raymond (1992, 1993). She remains the last Florida women’s tennis player to do so.
“It was a great moment,” Craybas said through a smile. “Details that I will never forget.”
Jill Craybas’ 1996 NCAA Singles Championship
First Round — Craybas def. Patty Murren (Wake Forest), 6-0, 6-0
Second Round — Craybas def. Gulberk Gultekin (UAB), 6-2, 6-3
Round of 16 — Craybas def. Jennifer Hall (Notre Dame), 6-1, 6-1
Quarterfinals — Craybas def. Vanessa Webb (Duke), 6-4, 7-6(3)
Semifinals — Craybas def. Ania Bleszynski (Stanford), 6-2, 6-3
Finals — Craybas def. Kylie Hunt (Kansas), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
Craybas is one of five members of the ITA Women’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2026 that will be inducted on Oct. 10, 2026 in Williamsburg, Virginia.