The Hillsdale College men's tennis team, ranked 43rd in the nation in the most recent ITA poll, got a chance to face off with one of the nation's best teams, second-ranked Saint Leo, as its Florida trip came to a close on Monday.
The Chargers were able to compete in places with a legitimate NCAA DII national title contender, but were ultimately overpowered by the undefeated Lions in a 7-0 defeat.
While Saint Leo won all nine contested matches, Hillsdale did get a strong performance from junior Daniel Gilbert at No. 5 singles, as Gilbert took his Saint Leo opponent to three sets with a 6-3 second set victory before falling in a third set tie break.
Freshman Nik Wastcoat also forced a tiebreaker in the first set at No. 6 singles against St. Leo's Stijn de Lange, falling 7-5 in the tiebreak before losing a tight 6-4 second set to de Lange.
The experience of playing against one of the top teams in the nation should be a good one for the Chargers, who face an incredibly tough slate to kick off G-MAC play this weekend. Hillsdale travels to G-MAC title contenders Tiffin and Findlay on back to back days, Saturday and Sunday, for two matches that have huge implications for the G-MAC regular season title and potential G-MAC Tournament seeding down the road.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan