Chargers shut out Cedarville, Ashland at home

By Emily Schutte Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale men’s tennis team won both of its weekend games at home against Cedarville University and Ashland University, defeating both teams 7-0.

It was a weekend of milestones for senior Brian Hackman, who reached 100 collegiate wins as a Charger. Head coach Keith Turner reached 200 wins as a coach.

“It’s something I’m proud of,” Turner said. “I definitely have a lot more gray hair than when I started. Hopefully that number will at least be 204 by the end of the season. That means we’ll be in the NCAA tournament.”

In the Friday match against Cedarville, the Chargers claimed victory in doubles matches. No. 1 junior Sean Barstow and senior Tyler Conrad won 6-3, No. 2 Hackman and freshman Nik Wastcoat won 6-1, and No. 3 freshman Aidan Pack and junior Daniel Gilbert won 6-2.

“We needed to get those wins,” Conrad said. “It was very nice to win 7-0, pretty decisive in both and to show the conference ‘Hey, we had a tough start, but we’re still contenders for the title.’”

The Chargers also took every singles point, only losing one set. The lineup was changed a bit, with No. 1 singles played by Conrad instead of junior Brennan Cimpenau. Conrad won with a tie break, scoring 6-2, 3-6, 10-5.

“I moved up to No. 5 against Ashland just trying out some new stuff, and then Tyler moved up to No. 1 against Cedarville because Brennan was injured,” Gilbert said. “Just shifting some stuff around, trying some new things out, before conference so we can set our lineup then.”

No. 2 Pack won 6-1, 6-0, No. 3 Hackman won 6-4, 6-2, No. 4 Barstow won 6-0, 6-0, No. 5 Gilbert won 6-0, 6-1, and No. 6 Wastcoat won 6-0, 6-2.

“My plan, especially for singles is just put as many balls into the court as I can, because typically, when you’re playing players that are a little weaker than you, they’re a lot more inconsistent, and if you’re impatient, they might be able to make it a little closer than you’d like,” Gilbert said.

In the Saturday game versus Ashland, Cimpeanu was back in the competition, where he and Hackman won No. 1 doubles 6-1. No. 2 Barstow and Conrad won 6-2, and No. 3 Pack and Gilbert won 6-0.

“We won every double spot, which was good,” Gilbert said.

“The lower down you got in the lineup, the easier it’s going to be. I think just another good weekend of doubles experience will get us ready for conference.”

Hillsdale took every set in singles. No. 1 Cimpeanu won 6-1, 7-5, No. 2 Conrad won 6-1, 7-5, No. 3 Hackman won 6-2, 6-3, No. 4 Pack won 6-1, 6-2, No. 5 Gilbert won 6-1, 6-0, No. 6 Barstow won 6-0, 6-0.

“We hadn’t really played outside at all, and we played both of those matches outdoors, and it was relatively windy,” Conrad said. “Luckily, those other teams weren’t really used to it either, and especially Ashland had just come from playing Northwood indoors, so we definitely had the advantage on Saturday.” Hillsdale’s record is now 12-6 overall and 4-1 in G-MAC play. These wins have brought the Chargers close to the third seed in the upcoming tournament. The team will know its final seeding after its game against Northwood University on Saturday.

“Northwood is a must win match — they have a good program. We’re slightly favored, but they’re a team that can beat us on some days,” Gilbert said. “Conference is like our Super Bowl, so it’s gonna be high pressure, high intensity. We just got to bring it all at practice in these next two weeks, lay it all on the line, and then we should be okay.”

By Isabella Helms Collegian Reporter

The Hillsdale women’s tennis team secured two 5-2 victories over Cedarville and Ashland April 7-8.

Facing Cedarville Friday, No. 1 doubles senior Sarah Hackman and junior Melanie Zampardo won 6-1. Senior Ellie Chawner and sophomore Elizabeth McGivern followed this up with another 6-1 victory at No. 2 doubles.

At No. 3 doubles junior Julia Wagner and freshman Isabella Spinazze won 6-2.

“Going into the match I think we were expecting to win just based off of previous years and their record currently against teams we have already played,” senior Canela Luna said. “It might not have been the prettiest tennis because we were playing outside for the first time, but we took care of business.”

The Chargers went on to win four-of-six in singles and secure the victory over Cedarville.

In the No. 1 singles match, Sarah defeated Cedarville 6-1, 6-2. No. 2 singles was closer as Zampardo grabbed a 7-6, 6-2 win.

In the No. 3 spot, Luna defeated Calista Bobula in straight sets, winning 6-3, 6-2. McGivern also won in straight sets with a final score of 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 4 spot.

After losing to the Eagles in the first doubles match, Hillsdale responded with a 6-4 win from McGivern and Chawner in the No. 2 spot, and a 6-0 victory from freshman Megan Hackman and Luna in the No. 3 spot.

“We won the doubles point in each match which put us in the lead right off the bat and had us going into singles with good energy,” McGivern said.

At No. 1 singles, Sarah walked away with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win. Luna swept 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 singles, sophomore Courtney Rittel won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 singles, and Chawner won 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 6 spot.

Currently 8-7 overall and 5-1 in G-MAC play, the Chargers will be looking to build on this performance in their upcoming matchups as they prepare for their season finale against Northwood April 15, according to McGivern.

“The team is on a really good winning streak as we approach the end of our season,” McGivern said, “We’re all really excited for our last conference match next weekend against Northwood.”

Depending on the Chargers’ success next Saturday, they could close out the season taking the third seed in the G-MAC tournament. The Chargers will also be honoring their senior players April 15 in celebration of Senior Day. These players include Sarah, Luna, Chawner, and senior Tatum Matthews.

Sarah won G-MAC Player of the Year last year and has made first team All G-MAC two of her years at Hillsdale. Luna has earned G-MAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week three times in her career. Chawner, who hails from West Yorkshire, England, won the President’s Scholar-Athlete Award last year. Matthews shut out her opponent in No. 6 singles in the Chargers’ victory over Ursuline in March.

“We’ll be at home and it’s our senior day where we get to celebrate our four seniors who we all will miss so much,” McGivern said. “Anyone that’s around should come by and support so that our girls can have a great send-off.”