The Hillsdale College men's tennis team started the spring portion of its 2022-23 season with a bang on Saturday, beating visiting Cornerstone 6-1 in a match inside the Biermann Athletic Center.
All seven of Hillsdale's players that competed earned at least one victory in either the singles or doubles portion of the match as the Chargers improved to 2-0 in dual matches on the season.
Leading the way for Hillsdale was senior Brian Hackman, who got his final spring in uniform for the Chargers men's tennis team off to a fantastic start with a strong day.
Hackman teamed with freshman Nik Wastcoat to take a 6-1 victory at No. 2 doubles for the Chargers, helping Hillsdale secure the doubles point along with a 6-1 victory by junior Daniel Gilbert and senior Tyler Conrad at No. 3 doubles.
Then, playing at No. 2 singles for just the second time in his career, and the first since his freshman season in 2018-19, Hackman pulled out a stirring comeback win over Cornerstone's Santiago Castellanos, rallying from a 4-6 first set loss to take the second set 6-3, then winning a marathon super-tiebreak third set 12-10 to secure a well-earned victory and critical point for the Chargers.
At No. 1 singles, junior Brennan Cimpeanu took care of business for Hillsdale, rolling past Cornerstone's Andre Jimenez in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, while Hillsdale freshman Aidan Pack also won in a third-set tiebreak, beating Cornerstone's Daniel Alfaro 6-1, 2-6, 10-3.
Hillsdale also earned victories at No. 4 and 5 singles as well. Conrad took a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Cornerstone's Luis Felipe Azurduy Castellanos at No. 4 singles for the Chargers, and junior Sean Barstow won 6-1, 6-3 over Jose Oliva at No. 5 singles as well.
The Chargers can move forward with confidence after a strong performance against the Eagles, but the road gets tougher tomorrow as Hillsdale hosts a solid Davenport squad that expects to be a player in the Midwest Region on Sunday for a 3 p.m. match in the Biermann Center.