by Sheri Duff

"My favorite sport changes with the seasons," answered student-athlete Abby Stoner. "Whatever activity I'm doing at the time is the one I prefer." I quickly realize this is not her attempt at being evasive, just honest. Fortunately for CVU, right now, Stoner prefers tennis.

"I picked up a tennis racquet for the first time in preschool at Twin Oaks," said Stoner, "Jake Agna, Twin Oaks tennis pro and South Burlington High School girls' tennis coach was my instructor." A respected tennis icon statewide, Agna has quite the following. In fact, Stoner is still a fan. His signature tennis move is a sweet gesture - he gives away lifesaver candies (he calls them savers) as an incentive to the kids after every lesson. There's no doubt those savers keep them coming back for more.

Born on March 3, 1992, Stoner has lived in Shelburne her entire life. Her family includes parents, Theresa and Richard, sisters Jamie, age 32, and Claire, a freshman at CVU, their springer spaniel Olive, and a fish called Fish.

A tennis captain last year, Stoner has played varsity tennis since she was a freshman at CVU. During our conversation she reminisces about her greatest achievement to date. "Last year we played Rice in the semifinals at UVM. The team score was 3-3 in matches. So the match I was playing would determine which team would advance to the finals. I was down 0-4 in the third set and, with everyone watching, I was able to come back and win the match 6-4." Past CVU girls' tennis coach Chris Hood, described the match as, "a magnificent three-set comeback thriller." He added, "CVU went on to become the 2009 state champions and Abby finished the season 14-1."

During tennis Stoner doesn't have a personal ritual, however, the team does. "Our team listens to warm-up music to get pumped before every match," she explains, "and we always did a cheer too. This year may be different though because we have a new coach: Amy deGroot." Coach deGroot already has kudos for Stoner, "She is a strong player with a great deal of experience who will contribute significantly to the team." Stoner is equally positive, "I'm really looking forward to having a more technical coach this year," she said.

In addition to tennis, Stoner is four-year varsity Nordic skier and is involved in the National Honor Society at CVU. She is also an active member of the Shelburne Explorers 4-H club. Stoner has been showing cows since she was eight and has attended the 4-H Eastern States Exposition, commonly known as The Big E, in Springfield, Mass., for three years. Over two years she won her age group class as well as Junior Brown Swiss Champion. Last year she won a showmanship award in honor of a 4-H members' brother who passed away. "The showmanship award really meant a lot to me," Stoner shares, "to me showing a cow is really something different and special."

College after high school graduation is a definite for Stoner. It's where she will attend college that is the million dollar question. She has applied to 10 colleges and thus far has been accepted to UVM and the University of California-Santa Cruz. Where will she go if she is accepted to all 10? "I really like the city of Providence so Brown University or RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) are my top choices," says Stoner. She will most likely hear from the remaining eight next week and will have to commit no later than May 1. After that, I hope we will be fortunate enough to know which competitive college Stoner prefers.