Skip to content

Senior Spotlight: Abby Hickerson

Playing alongside Callie George in her doubles match against Roxana on Monday, Vandalia senior Abby Hickerson scored two authoritative points.

Leading 5-0, Hickerson was playing close to the net, and when a Roxana player hit a short floater, Hickerson slammed the ball at a sharp angle to bounce it out of play.

Later when leading 6-1, Hickerson again had a floater up front, but she blasted it at a lesser angle and it zoomed toward the baseline, skipping ever so slightly just before sneaking out of bounds.

That Hickerson, who is just short of 6 feet tall, has mastered both of those shots makes her a valuable doubles player, especially since she also uses her height to intimidate opponents.

“I love being able to slam the ball back,” she said. “I just go for it, and hopefully, it bounces over them or gets through their racket.”

That happened plenty of times for Hickerson during the season-opener, as she won her singles match against Jane Pratt, 6-0, 6-4, and teamed with George to take the doubles against Pratt and Sami Owsley, 8-4.

Coach Kevin Schroeder said that among his players, Hickerson is one of the best at playing close to the net, because she is always moving on the court. Therefore, opponents on accident may hit the ball right to Hickerson.

“Abby does a good job of moving across the net, so she doesn’t stay in one stationary place,” Schroeder said. “That makes it tougher (for opponents), because they don’t know where she is going to be.”

And when a ball comes to her, it’s pretty much a given she is going to hit it hard.

A few times she remembers slamming a ball hard for the game-winning point, and Schroeder said that he doesn’t care if she hits a bouncer or a screamer – as long as she thinks it was the best shot.

“Whatever is going to get the point,” he said. “She has to make that decision.”

Hickerson anticipates having a good season in doubles, because she and George also played together to plenty of success last season.

With that first win of 2011 on Monday, Hickerson said she hopes to get more as the year goes on.

“Callie and I do really well,” Hickerson said. “We played together last year, so we know how each other work.”

But sometimes, Hickerson has to get herself working well.

She said a recurring – but improving – problem in her game has been fighting her own frustrations when her lead begins to slip.

“I think I played pretty good (today),” she said. “I got frustrated when they started getting games on me, but I had to concentrate and keep going.”

Schroeder said Hickerson was a timid player her first two seasons, when she mostly played at the JV level, but about halfway through last season, her first as a full-time varsity player, she found a consistency in her game that has served her well.

“I’m tickled to death to have her on the team,” Schroeder said. “She listens and tries to do what I tell her, and she is now seeing results.”

Hickerson also plays basketball for Vandalia, and she should see varsity time this winter as a backup post player.

After that, however, her organized sports career will likely end. She plans to attend Kaskaskia College for two years to begin a degree in radiology, while still finding time for some recreational tennis.

Nevertheless, she will always be a player Schroeder remembers.

“When she gets that smile on her face after a good match, it’s worth seeing,” he said.

And that smile is even bigger when she earned some points with big hits.

Vandalia senior Abby Hickerson returns a serve against Roxana on Monday during her singles win. She later teamed with fellow senior Callie George to win in doubles.

Vandalia senior Abby Hickerson serves during her singles win against Roxana’s Jane Pratt on Monday.

Leave a Comment