March 27 Division II Men's Tennis National Rankings
The Hillsdale College men's tennis team has yet to see a freshman class through to graduation since being revived prior to the 2015-16 shool year. And yet, there the Chargers are, ranked among the best teams in NCAA Division II.
For the second consecutive week, the Chargers have earned a national ranking, coming in at #49 in the most recent poll, released Wednesday afternoon. Hillsdale stood at #45 in the poll released March 20, its first appearance in the national rankings.
Even through its first couple of seasons as a team, the Keith Turner-led squad made its mark by knocking off teams ranked within the Midwest Region more frequently than any observer of the sport might have anticipated. The team rose up through the regional rankings last year, sweeping its way to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference title, until inexplicably, being left out of the NCAA Tournament. Following the completion of the 2018 season, the team lost two of its top five singles players.
But that hasn't slowed down the 2019 Charger team, who is off to a 10-4 start to the season and has now strung together back-to-back weeks of being nationally ranked. Players from all four classes have winning records, and three different players have been named conference player of the week a total of four times this year. With the G-MAC Tournament just a few weeks away, there's little to keep the Chargers from continuing the climb.
PHOTO: Victoria Addis