Charger men’s tennis team ranked 5th in Midwest Region in ITA Poll

ITA Division II Men's Tennis Rankings (March 23)

The Hillsdale College men's tennis team has been outperforming expectations throughout the Spring of 2021.

Now, the Chargers have reached heights in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II Midwest Regional Rankings that the program hasn't achieved since Hillsdale reinstated the sport in the fall of 2015.

Hillsdale is ranked fifth in the Midwest in the ITA's first regional poll of the season, released this afternoon, slotting in behind three teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation and GLIAC favorite Ferris State, who handed the 8-1 Chargers their only loss in a narrow 4-3 match on Feb. 28.

That fifth-place ranking is the best-ever ranking for the Chargers since restarting the program, and puts Hillsdale firmly in contention for a first-ever NCAA Division II tournament berth.

The Chargers lost three of their top six singles players to graduation from last season and a fourth has yet to play this season after suffering an injury, but Hillsdale has retooled around returners in sophomore Tyler Conrad, junior Brian Hackman and senior Gabe Katz, and gotten excellent contributions from its gifted freshman class of Brennan Cimpeanu, Sean Barstow and Daniel Gilbert to earn several quality in-region victories.

Hillsdale is currently the highest-rated team in the Midwest Region from the G-MAC, but conference rivals Tiffin (eighth) and Walsh (10^th) aren't far behind, setting up what should be an exciting month of conference play leading into the G-MAC Tournament at the end of April.

The Chargers play twice this weekend, taking on NAIA foe Indiana Tech on Friday and opening the G-MAC season at Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday for their next action.

ITA Midwest Region Top 10 Teams