It's been over six months since the Hillsdale College women's tennis team last participated in a competitive match against outside competition.
On Friday, the Chargers finally get the chance to get back on the court against live opponents, and their first action of the 2020 season will be the always-tough ITA Midwest Regional tournament hosted by the University of Indianapolis.
"Because there weren't really summer tournaments, for our players these six months are the longest they've gone without competitive matches in several years," Hillsdale College tennis coach Nikki Walbright said. "I think there's real excitement and hunger on our squad to get back out there and compete."
The ITA regional is a three-day tournament that brings together all the Division II men's and women's tennis teams in the Midwest Regional, putting on several brackets – as many 64-player, seeded singles draws and 32-team, seeded doubles draws for each gender as there are available players to fill.
Due to the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the event will be smaller than in most years, with no GLIAC schools in attendance and a few GLVC and GMAC schools potentially opting out – but a majority of the region's best teams and most accomplished individuals will still be in attendance, making the event a good early season test for the Chargers.
"This fall is really important for our team to just kind of get back in the swing of competitive tennis, and also figure out where all the pieces fit and what our best lineup looks like," Walbright said. "Not only because of the long layoff, but because we've got a consistent group this year that's very close in talent from top to bottom.
"Getting live competitive matches is going to make it a little easier for us to sort out what our best doubles pairings are, and what order is going to allow us to be most successful on the court."
Coming into the spring 2020 season, the Chargers had won back-to-back G-MAC championships and were the odds-on favorite to make it three titles in a row before the pandemic brought the campaign to an abrupt end.
Expectations remain high for Hillsdale this season. The Chargers return their top two singles players from a year ago, junior Hannah Cimpeanu (Troy, MI/Troy) and sophomore Sarah Hackman (Island Lake, IL/Wauconda), as well as four other players who played in a dual for the Chargers in 2020.
Hillsdale does have two significant holes to fill with the graduation of lineup stalwarts Katie Bell and Kamryn Matthews, who both played important roles in the Chargers' back-to-back conference titles.
The Chargers will lean on that group of younger players who got collegiate experience last season, including Kamryn's sister Tatum (Midland, MI/Dow), Sophia Spinazze (Toledo, OH/Central Catholic), Ellie Chawner (Huddersfield, England/Holmfirth) and Canela Luna (Rocklin, CA/Rocklin).
Junior and team leader Elli Formentin (Grosse Ile, MI/Grosse Ile) could play a bigger role, and a two-player freshman class that includes Elli's younger sister Helana (Grosse Ile, MI/Grosse Ile) and Julia Wagner (Arroyo Grande, CA/Weil Tennis Academy) also will get a chance to contribute.
Along with the ITA Regional, the Chargers also will host a home invitational on Oct. 3 to complete their fall schedule, and will begin their spring season in early February.
Picture: Juniors Elli Formentin (left) and Hannah Cimpeanu bring experience and leadership to the 2020-21 Charger women's tennis team.