ST. PETER, Minn. – Grinnell College women's tennis player Laura Krull '13 entered the 2012 USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships as the ninth seed in singles play.

She left a few days later as best in the entire 64-player field.

Krull, who already had advanced further than any player in program history when she sewed up a semifinal berth Saturday, won a pair of matches Sunday to secure the title.

She opened the day with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Tai Lucero of Coe College, the tourney's fifth seed. That was followed by a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jackie Vitale of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the title contest.

“Laura won the title having gone through the field without a single set loss, which is a pretty extraordinary accomplishment,” said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. “Her semifinal match against Lucero was a 2-hour, 15-minute two-set match. The points were extraordinarily long and physically taxing. Laura showed true grit to overcome a very fine player.

“In the final, once Laura adjusted to the windy conditions she settled in with a good game plan to attack her opponent from Whitewater,” he continued. “Hat's off to Jackie Vitale for fighting back in the second set. After trailing 5-2, she came back within 5-4 before Laura prevailed with a very strong game to finish off the match.

“I'm incredibly pleased for Laura,” he concluded. “Things came together well for her at this tournament after suffering a lower-leg injury early in the season.”