Last season, the Hillsdale College men's tennis team was one of just five Midwest programs to make the NCAA Division II tournament.
If the first event of the 2021-22 season is any indication, the Chargers are picking up where they left off in the new season.
Hillsdale put on a strong performance at its annual Charger men's tennis Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, holding up well against a talented field of opponents and winning titles in three of the six contested flights -- including victories in both the top singles and doubles draws.
Sophomores Brennan Cimpeanu and Sean Barstow led the way for the Chargers, each going a perfect 6-0 on the day between singles and doubles play.
Cimpeanu, the 2021 G-MAC Freshman of the Year, rolled through an extremely tough field in the A singles draw to claim the crown in the top flight. The sophomore opened with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Wilfredo Lara of Findlay before taking down the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players from a strong Wayne State team in back-to-back matches to secure the crown. Cimpeanu first knocked off the Warriors' No. 2, Daniel Grey, in a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7 (6) 10-7 victory, before beating Wayne St.'s No. 1, Dom Spicer, in a 7-5, 6-2 match in the final.
Barstow earned a singles championship as well for the Chargers in the invite, claiming the B singles draw title with a close 6-7 (5), 6-2, 10-5 victory over teammate and senior Brian Hackman in the finals. To get there, Barstow knocked off Alfredo Berlanga of Findlay 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round, then outlasted Wayne State's Niklas Karcz in a marathon 7-5, 3-6, 14-12 match in the semifinal.
Both Cimpeanu and Barstow were unstoppable separately on the weekend, and they were just as good paired up in doubles play. The two brought home the A double draw title, beating Daniel Martinez Roca and Matt Saunders of Tiffin 8-5 in the opening round, and then taking down both of Wayne State's top doubles teams to secure the crown, topping the Warriors' Luke Laws and Dom Spicer 8-2 in the semifinal, and then beating Cedric Drenth and Daniel Grey of Wayne State in the final, 8-4.
Hackman, the Chargers' lone senior, capped a strong weekend with runner-up honors as well behind Barstow in the B singles draw. The senior beat Andrew Cordita of Findlay 6-4, 7-5 in the opening round and Luke Laws of Wayne State 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinal to reach the match with Barstow. Hackman also teamed up with junior Tyler Conrad in the A doubles draw, beating Wilfredo Lara and Alfredo Berlanga of Findlay 8-5 before falling to Drenth and Grey of Wayne St. 8-4 in the semifinal round.
In the C singles bracket, Daniel Gilbert rallied from a 1-6, 7-5, 10-7 loss to Cedric Drenth of Wayne St. in the opening round to claim the consolation title for Hillsdale. Gilbert bested Daniel Martinez Roca of Tiffin 6-2, 6-4 and Cyrille Colomb of Tiffin 6-7 (4), 6-2, 10-3 in the back draw to earn the consolation victory.
Gilbert also teamed with freshman Jonathan Degtyaryov in the B doubles bracket, going 1-1 for Hillsdale in Degtyaryov's first collegiate tennis action. The pair beat Brayden Doherty and Mark Ivanov of Findlay 8-4 before falling to Joe Steele and David Plaszczyk of Wayne St. 8-5 in the semifinal round.
Hillsdale's other freshman, Noah Fasczewski, also made his collegiate debut this weekend, winning by default over Findlay's Mark Ivanov in the C singles draw before falling to Plaszczyk of Wayne St. 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinal round.
The Chargers will look to build off this weekend's performance at the ITA Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids, Michigan in two weeks. Virtually all of the top players in the Midwest from the G-MAC, GLVC and GLIAC will be in attendance, making it a great opportunity for the Chargers to see where they're at against the best in the region early in the 2021-22 campaign.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan
