Girls tennis: Hillock sisters, Chadick win sectional titles

LOCKPORT – Bri and Cassidy Hillock already had accomplished a lot of special things during their four-year varsity careers at Lockport.

But the senior twins had not played together on a tennis doubles teams with the Porters prior to this year, so they were quite happy to finally get to get that chance.

And the pair definitely have made the most of the opportunity and both acknowledged that Saturday’s Class 2A Lockport Sectional will go down as a special moment for them.

That’s because the sisters captured a 6-0, 6-1 victory over teammates Maddy Grcevic and Kamila Kalinowska to win the doubles title in their final match on their home court.

With the top-two doubles team and Natallie Barth also qualifying in singles, coach Bob Champlin’s Porters won their second straight sectional title by a 29-24 margin over Plainfield North. The two doubles teams and Barth will compete in the state finals, which run at various sites in the northwest suburbs, beginning Thursday.

“This is great that we get to do this together, especially since I love playing with Cassidy,” said Bri Hillock, who advanced to state in doubles for the third straight year. “This was the first year that we’ve played together here, and it was a great way to finish things. The past four years have been a great experience, and I’ve definitely learned a lot about myself as a player and as an individual. And I’ve also learned a lot of good and very valuable lessons in this program. This was an experience that I’ll definitely cherish for years to come.”

Cassidy Hillock, who went to state for the first time a year ago in singles, also was thrilled that she and her sister will go to state this season as a doubles team.

“This is an experience, especially in my senior year, that I’ll never forget,” Cassidy Hillock said. “And we truly are best friends, and she’s the No. 1 person that I trust. This is just that we can both have and hold onto if and when we go our separate ways next year. This was something that was really special, and we’ve gotten better in every single match. I think now we’re a stronger team than ever since we’re disciplined with one another, and when we want to get a job done, we get the job done. It’s easier to hold each other accountable.”

The singles championship match featured two talented younger players who were the top two seeds. Minooka freshman Annabelle Siegel drew the top seed, while Plainfield North sophomore Grace Chadick was the No. 2 seed, but the Tigers’ returning state qualifier captured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 victory to claim the sectional championship.

Chadick, who went 4-2 in her first state trip, hopes that she can improve on that mark and possibly challenge for a state medal next weekend.

“She had beaten me the past couple of times that I played her,” Chadick said. “I’ll be seeded this year and last year I wasn’t. But I learned that you have to fight for every point. I practice every day, and my coach helps me with my serve and everything. I’ve been working really hard this year, and I’m just trying to improve my game and also try my hardest.”

In the third-place match in singles, Barth captured a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Plainfield Central’s Katie Kearney. And in the third-place match in doubles, Minooka’s Isabelle Figarelli and Kacie Moore beat Plainfield North’s Mikayla Dwyer and Stephanie Kucera, 7-5, 6-4. Minooka took third place with 19 points, and Plainfield Central was fourth with 14 points.

Besides repeating as sectional champions, the Porters now have won six sectional titles in the past nine years under Champlin.

“This was a very good sectional,” Champlin said. “We’ve been playing really hard teams all along and it really helped us in this kind of format. The Hillocks have been doing great things for us for years. It’s always hard to get second doubles to state, but to have the one and two seeds was very nice. The girls pushed each other in the offseason and they made each other better. They kept each other accountable by preparing for the season, and that’s really important for any team to be successful.”