The long trip down to Owensboro, Kentucky was a fruitful one for the Hillsdale College men's tennis team, as the Chargers rolled past host Kentucky Wesleyan for a 7-0 victory on Saturday.
Hillsdale got strong play up and down the lineup. Playing at No. 1 singles and teaming with Sean Barstow at No. 1 doubles, Brennan Cimpeanu didn't drop a single game, winning 6-0, 6-0 over the Panthers' Lucas Holder in singles play and taking a 6-0 victory with Barstow in No. 1 doubles.
Fellow junior Daniel Gilbert also had a near-perfect day for the Chargers, winning 6-0, 6-0 over KWC's Connor Adams at No. 4 singles and teaming with Aidan Pack for a 6-0 victory at No. 2 doubles as well.
Both Pack and Barstow each added singles victories to their doubles win as well for Hillsdale. Pack picked up a 6-2, 6-0 victory over John Thomas Hayden at No. 2 singles, and Barstow beat Adryan Taylor of KWC 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 singles as well.
Freshman Lennart Kober also picked up his first two victories of the spring for Hillsdale, teaming with fellow freshman Nik Wastcoat for a 6-3 victory at No. 3 doubles and pulling out a 6-1, 6-0 victory over KWC's Wesley Matthews at No. 6 singles as well. Wastcoat also won at singles for the Chargers, picking up a 6-1, 6-2 win over the Panthers' Zach Abramson to complete the sweep.
Hillsdale is now 10-5 overall, 2-1 in G-MAC play after the win over the Panthers. The Chargers have a huge week of home matches ahead, starting with a big non-conference match against the 14th ranked team in NCAA DII in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, Wayne State, on Tuesday. Hillsdale finishes of the week with critical home conference matches against Cedarville on Friday and Ashland on Saturday, as it looks to solidify its grip on a top four seed in the season-ending G-MAC Tournament in late April.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan