There were plenty of question marks surrounding the Hillsdale College men's tennis team ahead of its season-opening home invitational on Sunday at the Delp Tennis Courts.
A young, shorthanded lineup, a six-month layoff from meaningful competition thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, and stiff competition from three of the best programs the Great Midwest Athletic Conference had to offer were all concerns for the Chargers heading into Sunday.
But Hillsdale rose to the occasion and kicked off the 2020-21 season with a strong performance in the event. Though team scores weren't kept, the Chargers posted the most total match wins (15) of the four teams, had the best winning percentage, and won five of the seven singles flights in Sunday's invite.
Leading the way for the Chargers was sophomore Tyler Conrad, who rallied from deficits in both of his matches to claim the No. 3 singles title in the invitational.
In his first match against Florian Bauer of Findlay, Conrad dropped the first set 3-6, but came back from the deficit to win the next two sets 6-3 and 10-7 to advance.
Conrad had an even bigger comeback in a 6-7 (3), 6-3 11-9 finals victory over Joe Gilman from Tiffin. Trailing 9-3 in the third set tiebreak, Conrad fought off an unbelievable six straight match points for Gilman to tie the set at nine apiece, then hit two more winners to seal the victory.
Junior Brian Hackman had a strong day as well for the Chargers at No. 2 singles, beating Alfredo Berlanga 4-6, 6-0, 10-8 in a three set thriller in the opener and earning a 6-3, 6-3 win over Matt Telford of Tiffin in the flight championship to clinch the title.
Hillsdale's three-player freshman class of Sean Barstow, Brennan Cimpeanu and Daniel Gilbert all had solid debuts for the Chargers in their first collegiate event as well, highlighted by Gilbert's title at No. 5 singles. Gilbert beat Mark Ivanov of Findlay 7-6 (3), 6-1 and Hugo Chatras of Tiffin 6-4, 7-6 (5) to claim the flight championship.
Senior Gabe Katz won the No. 6 singles flight as well for the Chargers, beating Gabe Olivera from Tiffin 6-4, 6-1 and Ivaylo Slavov of Findlay 6-0, 6-2 to claim the crown, and Hillsdale's Nico de Enrique Schmidt and Bogdan Janicijevic split the No. 7 singles title after both advanced to the flight final.
The solid performance by the Chargers came despite the absence of senior and presumptive No. 1 singles player Ivanhoe Lissanevitch, who is still in his native country of Nepal. With Lissanevitch slated to return for the spring season, Hillsdale will look to contend for the G-MAC crown, a title it last won in 2017-18.
First, however, Hillsdale will turn its focus to the three-day ITA Midwest Regional event hosted by the University of Indianapolis, starting on Sept. 19. That event will conclude the fall season for the Chargers, who will take a winter break following the ITA Regional and pick back up with events in February.
Photo: Chargers junior Brian Hackman lines up a return shot during his first round match at No. 2 singles in Sunday's home Charger Invitational. Photo by James Gensterblum.
