Commitment Announcement
Countdown: Favero Has a Cavalier Attitude
by Blair Henley, 12 October 2015
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Want to spend time with Camille Favero?
Take a number.
The 17-year-old senior at
Laurel Springs School has maintained a 4.2 grade point average while developing her skills as a classically trained violinist and volunteering with special needs children as part of her community service for the National Honor Society. Oh, and she also plays tennis, training up to 25 hours each week at
JMG Academy in Sacramento, California.
Her current practice schedule is fit for a high-level junior, but that wasn't always the case. Favero's father Eric, a recreational player, introduced her to the sport when she was six years old, but she didn't receive formal instruction until age ten. Even then, her weekly private lessons were hardly the stuff from which college scholarships are made.
"[When I first started playing tournaments], I thought, 'Whoa, a lot of these girls have a lot more experience than me,'" Favero said of her competition in Northern California.
Undeterred, she shifted from a local club program to a more rigorous routine at nearby JMG Academy after entering high school. One year later, she left her private, all-girls school for an online education, spending more time at the courts with her coach, Joseph Gilbert. Before long, she had her sights set on playing Division I tennis.
Favero's mother, Nancy Roycroft, likened her daughter's delayed rise from casual player to Blue Chip recruit to the tale of the tortoise and the hare. Favero agrees.
"Once I figured out that I could hang with other girls and play at a high level, my confidence grew," she said. "I feel like getting into it later helped me because I hadn't yet reached my peak, and I had so much room to grow."
Her relentless pursuit of excellence off the court mirrors her style of play. "I was the one running behind the baseline for hours," Favero said with a laugh. "I do like to hit hard and try to end the point, but if it got down to it, I was going to run that extra ball down."
