The lowest-seeded team entering the G-MAC tournament last week, the Chargers upset the No. 1 and 3 seeds to make a Cinderella run to a third-straight tourney crown.
Junior Sarah Hackman was at the center of the run, and earned the G-MAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week award for her role in the championship, the conference office announced on Wednesday morning.
Hackman was a perfect 4-0 in the tournament, winning both her matches at No. 1 doubles with partner Hannah Cimpeanu, including a 6-2 victory over Tiffin in the semifinal and a 7-6 (2) victory over Findlay in the final. Both those victories helped the Chargers capture the doubles point in both matches. That was critical in beating both the Dragons and Oilers, as the Chargers had lost the doubles point in regular season defeats to both teams.
In singles, Hackman also had huge victories for the Chargers. Her 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Anais Geslin of Tiffin at No. 2 singles was the clinching point for Hillsdale in a 4-2 victory over the top-seeded Dragons on Friday, and her 6-1, 6-2 victory over Luciana Pereya of Findlay on Saturday was a critical early win to help give the Chargers a needed edge in a 4-2 win over the Oilers to secure the championship.
For her season, Hackman earned second-team All-G-MAC honors, finishing with a 7-3 record in singles play, and a 7-5 record in doubles play with partner Hannah Cimpeanu.
Hackman and the Chargers earned an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season by taking the G-MAC title, and now await the NCAA announcement on May 4 regarding times and seeding for the upcoming Midwest Regional.