The Hillsdale College men's tennis team picked up two critical regional victories on the road this weekend, and junior Brennan Cimpeanu was at the center of it.
For his play for the Chargers, Cimpeanu was once again recognized by the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as its men's tennis Player of the Week, an award he's very familiar with. This honor marks the third time the junior has won a weekly conference award this season, and the eighth time total in a decorated career.
Cimpeanu went a perfect 4-0 in Hillsdale's 5-2 victories over Illinois-Springfield on Saturday and over Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday, helping the Chargers to critical points in tight matches against Midwest Region competition.
On Saturday against the Prairie Stars, Cimpeanu helped Hillsdale secure the doubles point with a 7-5 tiebreak win at No. 1 doubles with new partner Brian Hackman, and also rolled to a dominant victory at No. 1 singles, beating UIS' Sebastian Jonsson 6-1, 6-2. He finished the weekend on Sunday with another dominant showing against UMSL, taking a 7-5 win with Hackman at No. 1 doubles and a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 1 singles over the Tritons' Jose Mayorga.
It's been an impressive return to form over the last three weekends for Cimpeanu, who is now 4-0 with straight-set victories in his last four matches at No. 1 singles after a rocky start to the spring season. His recent play augurs well for the Chargers, who are just two weekends away from the start of G-MAC play.
Cimpeanu has been a critical player for the Chargers since the first match in his freshman year, earning G-MAC Freshman of the Year honors while helping Hillsdale to a G-MAC team championship in 2020-21. He followed that up in 2021-22 by becoming the first Hillsdale player to win an ITA Midwest Regional title in singles, and playing in the ITA Cup on the way to becoming the first Chargers men's tennis player to be named a NCAA DII All-American.
He boasts a singles record of 49-15 for his career at Hillsdale, and looks to keep up the pace this spring with important matches down in Florida over Spring Break next week on tap. The Chargers are scheduled to play two teams mentioned in the latest ITA DII Rankings -- first, a Rollins team that's currently honorable mention in the country on Sunday, March 12, and then a St. Leo team ranked third in the nation on Monday, March 13.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan