The Hillsdale College men's tennis team is adding major talent to an already-strong core by signing a three-player class of incoming freshmen set to arrive this fall.
Lennart Kober (Paderborn, Germany/Gymnasium Schloß Neuhaus), Aidan Pack (Alpharetta, GA/Rivers Academy) and Nik Wastcoat (Newton, MA/Dwight Global) are set to join a Chargers squad that is looking to maintain its hard-earned position among the top teams in the G-MAC and Midwest Region, and continue to grow the sport at Hillsdale College.
Kober is a talented international player from Paderborn, Germany, where he has been a strong competitor in both club and interscholastic tennis. A team captain for his high school, Kober helped lead Gymnasium Schloß Neuhaus to a fourth-place finish in 2019 at the North Rhine-Westphalia state championships. Individually, he also earned runner-up honors in the men's B flight of the Paderborn district championship, and helped lead his club to first place in the Westfalian Tennis Association Team Championship as well.
Off the tennis courts, Kober had top marks in his class for three consecutive years from 2016-18, and earned a spot in the German Junior Academy in 2018. He's also been an active volunteer at his tennis club and with the regional tennis association helping instruct children in the game, and spent eight years playing Cello in the Paderborn Youth Orchestra.
Pack is an experienced player who's no stranger to high-level competition from Alpharetta, Georgia. Ranked as high as ninth in a solid state for tennis and in the top 250 for players in his age group nationally, Pack boasts a 23-16 record against nationally-ranked competition, including a 12-7 record against three-star prospects according to tennisrecruiting.com, and has reached a 10.53 score in UTR.
A strong student as well who's a member of the National Honor Society at Rivers Academy and one of the top graduates in his class, Pack also is active in charity work, helping feed the homeless and playing piano in a charity concert at the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, among other service endeavors.
Wastcoat comes to Hillsdale as one of the top players in his age group in the Northeast, consistently ranking in the top 10 in singles and top three in doubles in the New England section of the USTA for much of his career. Currently the eighth-ranked player in Massachusetts, Wastcoat has learned from former World #7 Tim Mayotte since 2017 and has trained at the Gomez Tennis Academy in Naples, Florida throughout his career.
Off the court, Wastcoat was an honor roll student at Dwight Global, and served as a volunteer tennis coach to give back to the game he loves.
All three players will reinforce a Hillsdale team that's battled injuries and other setbacks throughout a challenging 2021-22 campaign but still reached the G-MAC Tournament and will return five of its top six players in 2022-23, including nationally ranked singles player Brennan Cimpeanu and his nationally-ranked doubles partner, Sean Barstow.
That returning core, combined with the influx of new talent, should keep Hillsdale in the battle for another conference title next season.
Courtesy Photos, from left: Kober; Wastcoat; Pack