As Yankton’s Nora Krajewski pushed through Monday’s opening day of basketball practice — which began with practices before and after school — the senior still felt pretty good for one simple reason.
She has signed to compete in tennis for the University of South Dakota.
Krajewski, the winningest girls’ tennis player in YHS history, also became its first Division I recruit, ending a long path.
“I’ve been doing this recruiting process for a year plus, so to be able to finally make a decision is definitely something I’m very happy about,” she said. “I’m a lot more stress free now.”
While YHS has produced collegiate tennis players before, none had competed at the highest level, an opportunity Krajewski will have.
“It’s big for the program,” said Yankton head coach Ryan Hage. “One thing that high school athletes often don’t realize is that they have young people idolizing them everywhere they go. Not just in Yankton, but everywhere Nora went there were young girls watching her on the court, looking up to her and hoping that someday they could be just like her.
“For us to have a leader like Nora signing with a Division I program, it’s great for the youth of Yankton and Yankton tennis. Hopefully it inspires some girls to go out, work hard and chase their dreams.”
Krajewski went into the process with the attitude that the academic portion had to fit for her, regardless of athletic opportunities. She was happy to find both in USD.
“It was definitely a tough choice,” she said. “I think I just had to go with what I thought would be best for me academically, and that was USD. There were a lot of great teams out there, and a lot of great options.
“On top of that, I think there’s something really special about being able to represent your home state at the collegiate level, and to be able to do that for the University of South Dakota is something that’s just really cool.”
While USD is just 25 miles from home, she joins a team with international representation. The current roster includes athletes from Brazil, Belguim, Ukraine and Georgia, and she is part of a recruiting class that includes athletes from Switzerland, Russia and New Zealand. Cassy Marra (Morcote, Ticino, Switzerland) and Ava Doddridge (Wellington, New Zealand) will be there in the spring, while Nastya Soloveva (Moscow, Russia) will join Krajewski as a fall 2026 arrival.
“I think something that’s really important is to expose yourself to new opportunities and experiences,” Krajewski said. “So to be able to meet so many people from so many different places and learn all their cultures is something I’m really excited for.”
Krajewski finishes her YHS career with a 164-13 singles record, including a 26-2 mark and a runner-up finish at state. She collected three singles state titles during her career.
Teamed with sister Sabrina for much of her career, Nora posted a 150-23 record in doubles play, including back-to-back undefeated seasons and state championships. They won 58 consecutive matches to end their high school careers.
While Nora Krajewski is not imposing physically — the 2024-25 Gazelles basketball roster listed her as 5-6 — her work ethic and intelligence made her tough to beat on the tennis court.
“It’s her belief in herself and belief in her skills. And, obviously, the work ethic that she has, the values her family instilled in her,” Hage said. “She puts in the extra time. She works hard in the off-season. She sticks around after practice. And she’s incredibly coachable.”
Those traits, along with her personality and her intelligence on and off the court, played a factor in her receiving the “Spirit of Max” award during the state tournament. Her leadership also helped the Gazelles receive the sportsmanship award for the 2025 tournament.
“She has been the face of tennis in South Dakota for many years, not just as a member of the Gazelles tennis program, but also on the circuit. She’s been playing at the USTA level since she was very young,” Hage said. “And her academic performance, being ranked number one in her class, is definitely a big component of that as well.
Then there’s the fact that everybody loves Nora: her teammates love her, her opponents love her and the opposing coaches love her. She walks on the court with a smile, walks off the court with a smile and she’s one of the most gracious athletes you’ll ever meet.”
Nora credits her upbringing with laying the foundation that led to her winning the “Spirit of Max” award.
“I was fortunate enough to grow up in a community, in a household, where they taught me that winning was great, but something people remember a lot longer is the kind of person you are,” she said. “I’ve just tried to keep that with me throughout everything I do, whether that’s tennis or basketball, or just anything else in life.”
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