There was no doubt who the G-MAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week was going to be this past week.
That's what happens when you win a championship that crowns you as the best player in the Midwest at the Division II level.
On Thursday, the G-MAC office identified Hillsdale College sophomore Brennan Cimpeanu as the obvious honoree for the week of Sept. 20 through the 27th, the second time Cimpeanu has won player of the week this season, and the third time in his career.
Cimpeanu made history this past weekend at the ITA Midwest Regional hosted by Grand Valley State, becoming the first player in Hillsdale College men's tennis history and in the 10-year history of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference to win the regional title in the top singles flight.
The sophomore from Troy, Michigan entered the competition as the fourth seed and went a perfect 6-0 in the singles bracket against the best players the Midwest had to offer, capping his epic run with an upset of third-seeded Nikolaj Talimaa of Indianapolis in the final.
Along the way, Cimpeanu beat Tommy Martinez of Illinois-Springfield, the 26th-ranked player in the nation in 2020-21, in a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 11-9 thriller in the semifinal, as well as 2020 All-American Sylvain Garin-Michaud of Drury in a similarly impressive 6-7 (4), 7-6 (0), 10-1 victory in the quarterfinal.
Not to be outdone, Cimpeanu also teamed with fellow sophomore Sean Barstow to reach the finals of the A doubles draw, upsetting the top-ranked doubles team in the region from UIndy in a 9-8 (5) thriller in the quarterfinal to become the first Charger pairing to earn runner-up honors in the top singles flight at the ITA Midwest Regional as well.
The 2021 G-MAC Freshman of the Year in men's tennis, Cimpeanu is now 16-1 on the season and 49-9 overall in both singles and doubles for his career. In the 2021-22 campaign, he's a perfect 9-0 in singles play so far, with wins over several regionally ranked and one nationally ranked opponent.
Thanks to his Midwest Regional victory, Cimpeanu also has become the first Hillsdale College and G-MAC men's tennis player to earn a berth into the prestigious ITA Cup, held Oct. 14-17 in Rome, Georgia.
The ITA Cup invites the top 16 singles players and doubles teams from across Division II to one location to battle for a championship. If the NCAA Division II Tournament in May is the national team championship for men's tennis, then the ITA Cup is the sport's equivalent of an individual national championship at the Division II level.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan