THe Hillsdale College men's tennis team gave it their best shot on Saturday, but ultimately the defending G-MAC champions proved to be too much to overcome in a 6-1 loss to visiting Tiffin in the Chargers' final home match of the season.
The Chargers put up a good fight against one of the best teams in the Midwest, including in doubles, where Hillsdale's top pairing of senior Sean Barstow and sophomore Aidan Pack pushed the nation's 17th-ranked doubles team of Michael Gurtner and Matt Telford to a tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles before succumbing in a 7-6 (3) loss.
In singles play, as well, Hillsdale got a big win from senior Tyler Conrad, as Hillsdale's all-time wins leader, playing in his final match at home, won the first set at No. 2 singles over Telford 6-4 and claimed victory in the match when Telford retired in the second set. Freshman Ellis Klanduch also made life tough for his opponent at No. 4 singles, Tiffin's Maxime Navrotchi, pushing Navrotchi to tiebreakers in both the first and second set before coming up just short in a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) defeat.
Despite a strong fight from the Chargers, Tiffin was able to take the match, claiming the doubles point with wins in all three flights and taking five of the six singles matches as well.
It was the final home match and Senior Day for a decorated graduating class of three players -- Barstow, Conrad and Daniel Gilbert -- who were key parts of Hillsdale's lineup throughout their entire time in college. Conrad became Hillsdale's all-time wins leader in men's tennis earlier this month, while Barstow is in the top 5 and has surpassed 100 victories, and Gilbert also ranks in the top 10 all time in wins. All three players played a major role in Hillsdale's last G-MAC championship in 2021, and their skill and leadership will be tough for the Chargers to replace next year.
Hillsdale is now 10-8 overall and 5-2 in the G-MAC with just one match left to play before the G-MAC Tournament at the end of April. The Chargers have a critical match against Walsh next Sunday to close out the regular season, as both teams are currently tied for third place with Northwood and the winner will get a valuable seeding advantage in the G-MAC Tourney.
Photo by Anthony Lupi