Growing up in a family of 12 children, it can be hard to stand out as an individual. Being just the second one to play No. 1 singles for the Dixon Duchesses tennis team can definitely help in that department.

Nora Bratt is the ninth of 12 Bratt children, all but one of whom – so far – have played tennis for DHS. But as the sixth of eight daughters, she’s the only girl other than sister Sadie, 20, to fill the top singles spot on the roster.

In the friendly competition amongst the siblings, that’s something Nora is happy to have some bragging rights about.

“There’s a lot to live up to with so many brothers and sisters,” said the 17-yard-old senior, “but I think the best thing about it is that it’s something I’ve proven to myself. “Obviously showing them what I can do is great, but I always want to see it for myself most of all.”

Tennis is a major tradition in the Bratt family, one that was started because there were so many children in the clan. Nora’s father, Tim, picked up tennis while at community college in Rockford, and played quite a bit with his friends before he met his wife, Grace.

Once they were married, Tim realized that not only could he pass his love for the game on to his children, but it was something he could teach them so they would have an activity to participate in together – and it was also a sport that he could play the rest of his life, enabling him to teach all his children.

So started the legacy that in the summer after each child finishes fifth grade, they start doing drills and practicing the game twice a week with their father. Now, with all 12 kids old enough to be playing, there is a family tennis tournament every summer.

“It was exciting; I couldn’t wait to get old enough,” Nora recalled. “It’s something I really looked forward to. I’d been around tennis all my life, watching my older brothers and sisters play, and to get to play it myself was the best.”

Playing singles was something Nora embraced early on. Growing up in such a big family, it’s very rare to find a quiet moment or any time alone – but when she’s on the court, it’s just her and her opponent.

“I like it, basically because it’s some time for me,” Nora said. “I love having 11 best friends who are never going to go away, so many people to influence me and who I can influence, but it’s nice to have something where I can say it’s just me.

“If I make a mistake, I can only blame myself and figure it out on my own; if I do something good, I know I did it without anyone else’s help.”

It’s been working so far this season. Nora is 10-6 overall, including 8-5 in dual meets, but she’s won four of her last five dual-meet matches – including a 6-3, 6-3 win Thursday over Mendota’s Michaela DeLong, a girl Nora lost to 6-0, 6-3 back on Aug. 24. The ultimate goal is a trip to the state meet, where four of the previous five Bratt sisters have played.

Nora is the sixth Bratt sister longtime Dixon tennis coach Ron Semetis has coached, and he sees a lot of similarities between Nora and the rest of the Bratt brood. But he’s also keen to point out that each sister has her own little idiosyncrasies that make them stand out as individuals.

“They’re all nice, quiet, coachable girls who consistently get steadily better as the season goes on,” Semetis said. “None of them are the rah-rah type; they’re very businesslike, hard workers who are very pleasant to work with.

“But I would say that Nora is the probably the quickest, the fastest of the Bratt girls. There are a lot of times when an opponent will hit a soft shot that they think will be a point, and Nora will get to it and turn it around on them. It’s one of those unique characteristics that each of them have that give them their own style.”

The Bratt Bunch

Parents: Tim & Grace

Sisters: Meghan (30 years old), Lesley (29), Clare (24), Mary (20), Sadie (20), Nora (17), Joan (15), Alane (11)

Brothers: Gordon (27), Wyatt (25), Hugh (22), Sam (13)

FYI: Nora is only second Bratt girl to play No. 1 singles (Sadie). ... Kids all start playing tennis in summer after fifth grade. ... Hugh is only child so far to not play tennis at DHS; he ran cross country instead.