What can be sweeter than winning a state title?

Having your sister win one as well.

At the Utah 4A high school state tennis championship, Hillcrest High freshman Luci Gonzalez stepped onto the court and didn’t look back. 

As the top-seeded No. 2 singles player, she breezed through the round of 16 and quarterfinals without her opponents winning a game. In the semifinals, she won 6-0, 6-1. 

She was playing on a court across from her older sister, Fabi, who was the top seed for No. 1 singles. Their Venezuelan parents watched their daughters from the walkway between courts. Their dad, who introduced each of them to the sport at age 3, said in English, “I’m double nervous.”

Luci Gonzalez claimed the title quickly, winning 6-0, 6-1. 

After a quick hug from her teammates, including senior Camila Andrade, a Venezuelan friend whose family also relocated to Utah, Luci Gonzalez was congratulated by her parents. Then, she celebrated by watching the remainder of her sister’s match.

“Coach kept telling me Luci was winning so when I heard her cheer for me, I figured she won,” said senior Fabi Gonzales, who kept her focus by looking in a notebook she kept courtside. “I kept visualizing winning. I was telling myself to breathe.” 

Like her sister, Fabi Gonzalez had won the round of 16 and quarterfinals 6-0, 6-0. In the semifinals, she beat her opponent 6-1, 6-0.

During her final match, coach Creighton Chun reminded Fabi Gonzalez about a dream her sister had shared. Earlier, Luci Gonzalez had a vision where the sisters would win state and she would run onto her older sister’s court to hug her.

After her sister won 6-2, 6-2, that’s exactly what Luci Gonzalez did.

“It was just like the dream,” she said.

Almost, her older sister added.

“I hugged her like she dreamt, then we both started crying,” Fabi Gonzalez said. 

Chun said that hug was huge.

“The picture of the two sisters celebrating the state championship together is a far different outcome than last year, when Fabi’s little sister was giving her a hug comforting her after her heartbreaking loss in the finals,” he said.

Fabi Gonzalez had lost to Maya Inouye both her freshman year and junior year at the state championships. This year, Inouye returned from college to watch her former opponent win.

“Maya is one of my closest friends from tennis tournaments. We play each other all the time, but we’re still good friends,” Fabi Gonzalez said.

The sisters had defeated their opponents from Green Canyon High to win their titles. In the quarterfinals, No. 1 doubles team Andrade and senior Jacklyn Wei had lost to Green Canyon and in the semifinals, junior Ava Booker and sophomore Ameera Al-Sweedy also were beaten by the Green Canyon No. 2 doubles team.

“We knew what everybody had to do to beat Green Canyon. Green Canyon had won state the past two years,” Chun said.

Hillcrest freshman Nivedita Bakshi also was playing Green Canyon for the No. 3 singles state title. 

On the court next to Fabi Gonzalez, Bakshi played through her team captain’s celebration. Both No. 3 finalists’ play was the same, returning long volley after long volley, surpassing the two-hour mark.

“Afterwards, Niv told me, ‘I couldn’t hit it past her,’” Chun said. “She didn’t have the strength that day. They had long volleys; one went over 100 swings and the average was more than 30 swings. That wears you down. They both played the same game, but that day, her opponent was more powerful. As a freshman, getting second at state is amazing.”

With that Green Canyon win, it sealed the team’s third straight team title. Hillcrest earned second place.

“Congratulations to Green Canyon; they were the better team those two days,” Chun said about the 11-point spread. “I’m proud of our girls.”

While initially the team was disappointed not to claim the state championship, it was Luci Gonzalez who told her teammates, “Don’t be disappointed. Don’t think that we lost because we played great.”

The Huskies also repeated as region 10 champions.

“We’ll be graduating three, but we’re still a strong team,” Chun said. “I have a lot of JV players who would be on varsity on other teams. In fact, we won the JV championship.”

The Huskies are anchored by the Gonzalez sisters, who practice with their club team two to three hours on weekdays and “it feels like the entire day on Saturday,” Fabi Gonzalez said; they fit in homework in any free hour they have.

The Gonzalez family moved to Utah when Fabi Gonzalez was in middle school and her younger sister, in elementary. Their older sister is a musician rather than a tennis player. 

It was the sisters’ dad, who put his younger daughters in tennis lessons because “he liked watching it a lot,” Fabi Gonzalez said. “The economy is not great in our country, so our money wasn’t strong; it was getting harder to pay for stuff to live. We decided to come here so we would have a future to go to college and have more opportunities.” 

They grew up with racquets in their hands.

“I was born into it,” Luci Gonzalez said. “I love what I’m doing. Tennis is a lot like life; there is a bunch of ups and downs, but you have to get back up and keep going.”

Their parents are commonly seen watching both daughters play in tournaments.

“That’s the story of their life. They’re always supporting us,” Luci Gonzalez said, who added she uses tennis and dance as an outlet from any pressures.

Luckily for her, Fabi Gonzalez taught herself how to do nails and now, does it on the side.

“I’m saving money so if I need anything — or I can use it when we need to, like when Luci forgot her shoes the first day of state. I had money to afford her shoes; if not, she couldn’t have played,” the older sister said.

Luci Gonzalez thought she had grabbed everything that morning, but when she was on the court warming up with her jump rope and stretch band, she checked her bag. 

“Fabi, you’re going to kill me, but I forgot my shoes,” she had told her sister.

Fortunately, the tennis store at Liberty Park had shoes in her size. 

“I was lucky because I would have been so cooked,” Luci Gonzalez said. “I have three pairs, but somehow I forgot them.”

It wasn’t the first time, Chun said. 

Luci Gonzalez also had forgotten them at region.

“Camila had to run to her house to go get her shoes,” he said.

The sisters may be considered by teammates and opponents as “sassy on the court,” Luci Gonzalez said.

“We have strong personalities; we’re strong and focused mentally. I think we’re sassy on the court in a strong, resilient way. If our opponents are trying to cheat or be mean to us, we always stand up for us,” she said.

Her sister adds, “We’re very competitive. Our opponents respect us because they know, ‘this person is good; we can’t mess with them.’ I know I’m a good player, but I know there’s also other good players, so I always think about being the best version of an athlete. You have to be humble yet confident at the same time. You have to respect your opponents because they have a racquet in their hands, they practice and can play hard, too.”

While Luci Gonzalez said they motivate each other and “we have to win together,” Fabi added, “Playing high school is different than being an individual at a tournament. There, I need to win for me to get my ranking up. In high school, I need to win for my team. I want my team to win. So, I think about that more.”

After playing in the state tournament for four years for Hillcrest, Fabi Gonzalez will next play for Fresno Pacific University in California. After posting her recruiting video last year, the coach offered her a full ride. 

“I was like, ‘wow.’ They have criminology, which is what I want to study. The coach told me everything was really covered — my equipment, dorm, food and books. It’s a huge opportunity,” she said.

Her sister is excited to visit California.

“That’s really the only thing good about it — for me. We’re close. I’m really going to miss her,” Luci Gonzalez said.

Before Fabi Gonzalez goes to college this summer, she wants to work on her serve and forehand to make them “stronger and flatter.”

Luci Gonzalez wants to work on adding more spin to her backhand.

“I like being an all-court player. I want to mix up my shots, my strategy; I want to get better at that, and better in my net game. I want to be state champion at No. 1 singles if I am No. 1 singles,” she said.

Chun likes the future of his team.

“Luci is probably the favorite at No. 1 singles,” he said. “We have two promising incoming freshmen (from Midvale Middle) and our returning varsity players are strong. We’ll also have our top JV players, including the first three singles of JV who were JV champions. I like our chances.” λ