Women's tennis triumphs 6-1 in first match of season

By Isabella Helms Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale women's tennis team defeated the Davenport Panthers on Feb. 5 in a hard-fought 6-1 home match.

Sophomore Libby McGivern and senior Ellie Chawner ran away with a dominating 6-0 lead in No. 2 doubles, and senior Canela Luna and freshman Megan Hackman secured a 6-3 victory at No. 3 doubles for an impressive start to the day.

McGivern said that the key to her and Chawner’s initial success was their aggression and persistence.

“Sunday's match against Davenport went really well,” McGivern said.“My doubles partner Ellie Chawner and I had a quick win which was an amazing start to our spring season. We put a lot of pressure on the other team from the start of the first game and played very aggressively which helped us keep the points short, saving up our energy for singles.”

At the No. 1 spot, senior Sarah Hackman won 6-1 and 6-1 in singles play, and junior Melanie Zampardo gave the Panthers a run for their money with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles.

“I thought the match went really well,” Sarah said.

“One thing I think that gave us an edge over Davenport was that we had great energy on and off the court, starting from the moment we began warmups.”

McGivern said Luna and Megan worked hard which helped the team achieve one of their main goals for the season.

“Canela Luna and Megan Hackman also had a great win in doubles which led to us winning the doubles point,” McGivern said.

“Coach Fraboulet had us make team goals at the beginning of the fall semester, and one of our goals is to always win the doubles point so that was a great start to our year.”

Despite having to rally from earlier deficits, Luna flipped the script at No. 3 singles and took a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win in the end for the Chargers. McGivern remained undefeated with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles giving the Chargers the advantage before Megan sealed it with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Davenport at No. 6 singles.

“We had two awesome firsts that happened this weekend,” McGivern said.

“One was that freshman Megan Hackman won her first collegiate singles match. The second first was that this was Coach Fraboulet's first win as head coach.”

For their first win of the season, McGivern said the Chargers’ victory over the Davenport Panthers was an amazing opportunity to perfect their skills, attain team goals, and celebrate their teammates’ strengths.

“Overall it was a great day and an amazing start to our season,” McGivern said. “We really set the tone that we will be the team to beat this year and we are all excited to keep up the high energy matches and keep winning.”

Hillsdale will have two more home matches this weekend, competing against Ferris State University Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. and Lewis University Feb. 11 at 2 p.m.