Dixon’s Bally goes out on top

Riley Bally completed her high school tennis season, and her competitive tennis career, in the best way possible – with a championship.

The Dixon High School senior put the finishing touches on an undefeated season this past Saturday by dusting the field at the Class 1A Rochelle Sectional. She lost only nine games while defeating four opponents to claim her first sectional title.

“I’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” Bally said, “and I was feeling a lot of confidence in myself. That probably helped.”

The fourth time was the charm for Bally, this year’s Sauk Valley Media Girls Tennis Player of the Year, at the sectional level. Each of the past three years, she lost in the sectional semifinals to athletes from Kaneland, then bounced back to take third place.

“It was frustrating, but I’m just glad I didn’t get fourth,” Bally said. “After getting the same place three years in a row, I definitely wanted to get first.”

Bally made two significant changes for the 2020 tennis season. First, she began lifting weights this past winter and kept it up throughout the season. She would go to Anytime Fitness in Dixon at 5:30 a.m. six days a week or, during a brief period gyms were shut down due to COVID-19, work out at home.

“I wanted to increase my endurance, and I knew it would help my overall game,” Bally said. “My game definitely improved.”

The second change was to her game. Instead of simply trying to bash the ball every time, she added some finesse shots that took precedence over force.

“When I was younger, I used to try to just hit a really hard shot every single time,” Bally said. “It worked, but not as well. Being more consistent helped my game a lot.”

“Riley has a very large skill set and she loves to hit the ball hard,” first-year DHS coach Jamie Brigl said, “but sometimes in games, she just needs to place the ball where other kids can’t hit it. As the year progressed, she would slice the ball in certain situations, and move it side to side. She concentrated more on placement.”

Alas, Brigl will not have the opportunity to see how she stacks up against the state’s best. There will be no state tournament this season because of COVID-19.

“It’s hard to say, but I think I might have made it past the first round,” Bally said. “Maybe a little farther than that. It just depended on who I would have played.”

A four-year regular, Bally posted a 71-15 career record, including a 57-6 mark in the regular season. She was 15-0 in singles this past season, and was 3-0 with doubles partner Emma Russell.

“I’m happy with everything I accomplished,” Bally said. “I would say I was pretty successful. It’s a little sad, but I’m ready to move on with new things.”

Those new things likely won’t include competitive tennis. She has no plans to play in college. Instead, she’ll concentrate on her studies as she pursues a career as a veterinarian. At the family farm, she is the “bird girl,” as she cares for chickens, geese and ducks, hatching them and taking care of them year-round.

She plans to attend college in the western part of the U.S., with University of Nevada-Reno the early frontrunner.

“I just want to experience something new, and I want to get far away from here,” Bally said. “I just want a new adventure.”