Tennis: Carney captures fourth straight sectional title

LOCKPORT – As if Eileen Carney didn’t already have enough to worry about facing Grace Chadick and Gabby Ochalik in consecutive matches, the girls tennis player had a little extra pressure on her going into Saturday’s semifinals in the Class 2A Lockport Sectional.

The Joliet West senior needed to defeat the two Plainfield North athletes in order to achieve a rare accomplishment, becoming a four-time sectional champion in singles.

Her older brothers, Jack and Tom, both reached four sectional finals, with Jack winning all four and Tom capturing three. Tom’s only second came in 2013, when the freshman lost to his brother, who was a junior, in a three-set match.

But after surviving a tough opening set against freshman Chadick in the semifinals that were moved indoors to Challenge Fitness, Carney showed no nervousness as she used a great start in a battle of unbeatens in the finals and claimed a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Ochalik. It was the third title meeting between the pair, who didn’t meet in last year’s sectional.

“I was trying to keep up the Carney family tradition, since my brothers won a lot of sectional titles, so I had a lot of pressure on me,” Carney said. “And I always play sectionals and state for my grandma, who passed away a couple of years ago, so this was dedicated to her.

“I played Grace in the first round today, and she’s so good. I’d hit the ball really hard and think it was a winner and then she’d hit it back. And Gabby is just a phenomenal player, so I knew that I couldn’t miss and I had to play my game. When I play great players like that, I have to play with confidence, because if I don’t, then I won’t compete like I did today.”

Ochalik, who is still getting back into form after being sidelined because of an injury, only dropped one game during her first three matches before running into Carney’s inspired effort in the title match. The Tigers senior also will be making her fourth state trip.

“I am very proud of going to state for a fourth time since it is something special,” Ochalik said. “Last year I made a mistake of putting too much pressure on myself and I was overwhelming myself, so I didn’t enjoy it and that turned out to be my worst result there. So this year, I’m trying to focus to have fun and there’s definitely less pressure on me.”

Chadick, a freshman, fell, 7-6 (2), 6-4, in the semifinals to Carney but bounced back with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Lockport junior Cassidy Hillock for third place.

The host Porters had a big day, winning their eighth sectional title in the 12 years after beating Plainfield North, 28-23, for top honors while Minooka was third with 15 points.

Beside their singles qualifier, coach Bob Champlin’s squad also advanced their two doubles teams to next weekend’s IHSA finals in the northwest suburbs after the squads met in the championship match and went to three sets.

Senior Kaitlyn Graves and junior Brianna Hillock, who also qualified a year ago, had to rally for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 title victory over senior Gabby Perillo and sophomore Natalie Barth.

“It was a very stressful match,” Brianna Hillock said. “When we play each other in practice, it doesn’t count for anything so this was a little bit more important. I always had the goal to go to state and I knew when I partnered up with Kait about two-and-a-half years ago that I’d have the chance to go to state at least once, and the fact that we’re going twice is very nice.”

The championship doubles team lost only two games in their first three matches before their Porters teammates threw an early scare into them.

“We’ve definitely improved a lot from last year, so we’re hoping to go further and it’s a good way to finish my senior year,” Graves said. “Our teammates are really good players so we knew we’d have a tough match. We have a lot of fun on the court and sometimes just talk about random things, which helps to relieve the pressure and lets us keep a positive mind.”

Minooka seniors Gabby Hajduk and Grace Thelo will be headed back to state for the first time since their freshman year. In the third-place match, they won, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0, over Plainfield North senior Sarah Trusk and junior Shreya Sharma.