For the first time in Hillsdale College history, both the women's and men's tennis teams will be competing in the NCAA Division II Tournament at the same time this weekend.
For the women, it's familiar territory – their third trip in four years, with the cancellation of the spring season in 2020 keeping the NCAA Tournament from happening last year. For the men, it's exciting new ground for a rising program.
But for both squads, the excitement of being one of the last 36 teams in Division II is the same – and the goal, to compete with the best in the country, also remains the same.
The Charger women will compete first on Saturday, May 8 at 11 a.m. at the Midland Community Tennis Center in Midland, Michigan. The challenge facing the 7-6 Chargers is formidable: their opponent, Indianapolis, is not only the top seed in the region but the top-ranked team in the country and a perfect 16-0 on the year.
The Greyhounds beat a loaded field at the ITA DII Team Indoor Championship in February, taking down three top 20 teams in 4-0 victories, and have won four Midwest Regional titles in the last six years, making the regional final every year the NCAA Tournament has been held since 2015.
Hillsdale, meanwhile, is the ultimate Cinderella story – a team that wasn't even in the NCAA Tournament picture two weeks ago, the Chargers avenged regular season losses and upset higher-seeded Tiffin and Findlay to claim a third-straight G-MAC Tournament title and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on April 24.
Senior Hannah Cimpeanu (5-4 in singles) and junior Sarah Hackman (7-2 in singles), both All-G-MAC honorees, lead the Chargers as the team's No. 1 and 2 singles players, and top doubles pairing as well.
At No. 3 singles, Canela Luna (8-2 singles) is also a critical player for the Chargers, and her 4-0 weekend was a major contributing factor in Hillsdale's G-MAC title run, and her doubles partner, No. 4 singles player Sophia Spinazze (9-3 singles), is another player having a solid season for Hillsdale.
The men will take the court immediately following the women, at approximately 2:30 p.m. Also the fourth seed after an undefeated run through both the G-MAC regular season and tournament, Hillsdale's men's tennis team is making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
The Chargers (15-2) open up with fifth-seeded Illinois-Springfield (11-4) in an opening-round contest in the five-team regional, with the winner advancing to play top-seeded Indianapolis in the semifinal round.
While Hillsdale will be favored as the higher seed in the matchup, the Prairie Stars are a tough opponent who took two points from the top-seeded Greyhounds in a regular-season meeting. The teams have played three common opponents – Purdue Northwest, Michigan Tech, and Southern Indiana, and both squads won all three – though Hillsdale triumphed in 7-0 sweeps in all three matches, while UIS took 5-2 wins over the Pride and the Screaming Eagles.
Hillsdale has had a strong showing this season, led by five underclassmen and a three-player freshman class that's playing well above expectations for first-year players.
Sophomore Tyler Conrad has had a solid campaign in his first year at No. 1 singles, going 8-6 for the Chargers, while G-MAC Freshman of the Year Brennan Cimpeanu is having an excellent year at No. 2 singles, going a perfect 15-0.
Two players with significant prior experience, junior and No. 3 singles player Brian Hackman (10-2 in singles) and senior and No. 6 singles player Gabe Katz (7-2 in singles), have helped buoy the lineup, while freshmen Sean Barstow (10-6 in singles) and Daniel Gilbert (11-2 in singles) have played important roles as well.