Girls tennis: High point for Wauconda's Hackman in state finale

Students she doesn't even know approach her in the hallways at school, offering well-wishes as well as congratulations for her successes on the tennis court.

Guess that's the attention that goes along with being the highest finisher ever in the high school girls tennis state tournament for Wauconda.

"It's been amazing," said soft-spoken senior singles player Sarah Hackman. "All of my fellow students - many I don't even know - have offered such tremendous support."

Hackman rolled through her first five tournament matches without a blemish, including a big win over highly regarded Lakes freshman Megan Heuser in the semifinals of the girls Class 1A tournament Saturday afternoon at Buffalo Grove High School.

It was a sweet turnabout for Hackman, who'd lost to Heuser four previous matches this fall, including the sectional title last week.

"It felt great to finally beat Megan," said Hackman, who grinded out a grueling 7-6 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-3 victory in the championship semifinals Saturday morning. "Being my senior year, I just tried to stay cool under pressure while benefiting from my previous match experience being here all four years."

Hackman, who finished the season 26-6, then perhaps ran out of gas in the title match, falling to Chicago Northside's Nicole Roc 6-0, 6-2.

Still, not too shabby in collecting a second-place medal in her swan song.

"We are super proud of Sarah," said third-year Wauconda coach Ryan Whitfield. "She's so resilient and I think she had a little chip on her shoulder this season and here at state. We had 48 girls come out for tennis this fall and safe to say, the bar has been raised largely due to Sarah."

Hackman's efforts helped Wauconda finish tied for seventh in the team standings with 12 points.

Speaking of Heuser, get used to seeing this girl a lot over the next three years as she is only a freshman.

After her loss to Hackman, Heuser buckled down and won the third-place medal by topping North Shore Country Day's Claudia Miller 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.

"It was really important to win sectionals as a team," said Heuser, who finished the season with 30-plus victories against only two losses. "It's been a great experience and I'm really proud and excited to see where things go for our program from here."

Heuser was the first girls tennis player in Lakes' history to have qualified for the state tournament.

She earned 11 points to help the Eagles finish tied for 10th in the team standings.

And then there's senior Kelsey Neville, one of the best to walk through the doors at Antioch High School.

After a fourth-place finish in singles a year ago, Neville went deep in the state tourney once again before dropping the consolation fifth-place match 3-6, 6-2, 3-6 to Chicago Lakeview's Maria Rivas.

"I love this. I can't complain. It's been a cool experience qualifying for state all four years," said Neville, whose success helped the program win a couple of sectional titles in her time there. "I just tried to stay in the moment, which works sometimes."

Neville had won five matches this week at state before the fifth-place contest on Saturday. Her eight 8 points helped Antioch tie for 22nd in the team standings.

"This has been a great team to be a part of," Neville said. "Hopefully we've set a tradition now."

Athletic director Steve Schoenfelder thinks so.

"We're so proud of her," he said. "She is only the fifth athlete in school history to have made to state in one sport all four years."