The Hillsdale College men's tennis team got a stiff early season test from visiting Davenport University on Sunday.
But with an excellent effort from start to finish, the Chargers pulled out a hard-fought win over the Panthers, 4-2.
The match was a fight from the start, as Davenport took leads at one point in all three doubles matches to start the day, and looked to be on the way to securing the doubles point.
But at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, the Chargers battled back from 5-4 deficits to secure the critical point. Hillsdale's No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Tyler Conrad and freshman Sean Barstow took a 7-5 victory over J.L. van Antwerpen and Juan Contoleon of Davenport, and the Chargers' No. 2 doubles team of freshman Brennan Cimpeanu and senior Gabe Katz also earned a 7-5 victory over Frank Piana and Daniil Khitrou.
The toughness that allowed the Chargers to win the doubles point carried over to the singles matches as well. Cimpeanu battled back from a 6-3 set 1 loss to win the next two sets 6-2 and 6-3 over Piana in a hard-fought match at No. 2 singles, while Barstow made short work of Khitrou at No. 3 singles (6-2, 6-2) for the Chargers as well.
Junior Brian Hackman clinched the match for the Chargers with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Contoleon at No. 5 singles as well.
While freshmen Cimpeanu and Barstow played big roles in the Charger victory, Hillsdale's third freshman, Gilbert, also had a solid performance, taking Davenport senior Jonathan Bulmer to three sets at No. 4 singles before falling 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a hard-fought match.
While Katz didn't get a chance to finish his No. 6 singles match due to Hackman's victory clinching the victory, the senior was up a set (6-2) and looking like he was on the way to victory as well.
Hillsdale is now 2-0 after a strong opening weekend, helping the Chargers build confidence for a lineup that features several freshmen and sophomores in prominent roles.
That'll come in handy for the Chargers next weekend as the competition ramps up with neutral site matches against Purdue Northwest and Wayne State, both strong GLIAC programs, on Saturday and Sunday.
Photo by Anthony Lupi