The offseason for St. Charles East senior Kelsey Jacob didn’t exactly go to plan.

Four months after qualifying for the girls tennis state tournament for the third straight season, Jacob got into a serious car accident that left her with multiple injuries, including eight facial fractures, a collapsed lung and a brain bleed.

It left her off the tennis court for four months.

But come her senior season, it was hard to tell that she missed any time.

Jacob finished the season winning both a DuKane Conference and sectional title for the first time in her career, while also qualifying for state for the fourth consecutive season.

For her efforts, Jacob was named the Kane County Chronicle girls tennis Player of the Year.

Here is her Q&A with sports reporter Joel Boenitz.

How did you feel your senior season went?

Jacob: I feel it went really good. A lot of the goals that I had I fulfilled and I think that my senior season was probably my best season out of the four years that I played high school tennis.

You won a DuKane Conference and sectional title for the first time in your career. What was the feeling of winning both of those?

Jacob: Just the feeling of actually achieving it felt amazing. Especially after working so hard to get it, it was almost a shock. I knew I could do it, but it was surprising that I actually did it.

You also made it to the state tournament for the fourth straight season. How good did it feel to make it back to state?

Jacob: It’s always been great to qualify, but this year it was just kind of a sigh of relief after I qualified. Being at state made me realize that it was the last big part of my high school tennis career. It didn’t turn out the way I wanted, but it was great that I made it.

What was the recovery and rehab process like to get back onto the tennis court?

Jacob: Well right after the accident, I was put on a liquid diet, so I lost a lot of weight, lost my strength and obviously wasn’t playing tennis. The first time I went back with my court, I remember playing with my dad and I just remember that it was just a huge difference from how I played before the accident. We were just rallying and kind of easing back into it, and it just hit me that I wasn’t going to be the same player as I was before, and I just remember crying on the court because it was so devastating that I had lost my ability. But we had practiced from then on weekly, I gained the weight back and worked out in practice. It was just a process of having to build back everything step by step, working on ground strokes and my serve and having to tweak little things that I had lost overtime.

Do you think the trip to state was a bit more special due to the adversity you overcame in the offseason?

Jacob: It definitely did. If I had been asked right after the accident about how I was going to do this season, I wouldn’t have been as confident in myself. But seeing what I came back from and accomplished, it definitely meant more for me.

What do you think you’ll miss most about high school tennis at St. Charles East?

Jacob: There’s a lot that I’ll miss, but I’d say the practices were actually a huge part of the tennis season being so great. It’s when everybody really felt like a team, especially with being a team captain. I would help lead warm ups and afterwards we got in a circle and would ask a question of the day. It just really felt like a family where we’re all just spending time together.

What do you think is the best part of your tennis game?

Jacob: My game changed a lot, and I feel like I played different in every single match that I played, but I would say my serve. As a lefty, it helped me a lot, especially since most right-handed players are not always used to playing lefties.

Do you have a favorite tennis player you look up to?

Jacob: This is going to sound weird, but I don’t really watch pro tennis. My whole family plays and watch tennis, all my tennis friends watch it, but I’ve never been a fan of it and never watched tennis on purpose.

How did you get into tennis?

Jacob: My dad is a tennis coach, he’s been playing since he was around my age. I basically grew up on the court with him. There’s a tennis club in South Barrington where I used to spend a lot of time at because my dad used to teach tennis on the weekends there. And I actually worked there the summer before my junior year. And since I spent the most time on the court, and he knew a lot about the sport, that’s the sport we decided to go with when I was around five years old, and it just went from there.

Any plans to play in college?

Jacob: I haven’t decided on a college yet, but I’m hoping to just go to college for academics and then maybe play club tennis. Even though it’s played a big part in my life, it’s surprisingly not a big plan in my college life.