It’s taken less than two years for Rochelle Township High School student-athlete Jordin Dickey to become one of the strongest players on the Lady Hub varsity tennis team. Dickey’s doubles performances have pushed Rochelle to some key victories over the last two seasons, and with several returning upperclassmen this fall, optimism is high for Dickey and the Lady Hub netters.

Despite not taking up tennis under her freshman year of high school, Dickey has worked her way up to the No. 1 varsity doubles pairing alongside teammate MeLisa Young. The Varsity High Point Award winner this past season as a sophomore, Dickey helped secure doubles points in Rochelle’s two victories over Rockford Lutheran and Belvidere. Dickey was partially responsible for five of the Lady Hub varsity doubles wins during the 2019 campaign.

“It’s really exciting to be around my teammates again,” Dickey said. “I thought MeLisa and I worked really well together. We had great teamwork and we served the ball really well. Finishing our points will be important for us this season. We had some really good rallies that we lost last season, but I think we’ll do better to win some of those points this season.”

Dickey began her freshman season on the JV team, eventually moving up to the varsity level where she and teammate Sawyer McGee earned a critical doubles point to help the Lady Hubs defeat Morris for the team’s lone win of the 2018 season. Now an upperclassman and one of several rising juniors returning to this fall, Dickey and the Lady Hubs will be looking to turn more of those match points into Rochelle victories when the season begins on Aug. 25.

“I thought we played OK this past season,” Dickey said. “I hope that we can get more wins this season because we only had two last season and one during my freshman season... Tennis has been a great way for me to stay in shape and the team has become like a second family to me. I really enjoy being together with my teammates and having fun on and off the court.”