An excellent performance in doubles by junior Hannah Cimpeanu (Troy MI, Troy) and sophomore Sarah Hackman (Island Lake, IL/Wauconda) helped set the tone for the Hillsdale College women's tennis team as it opened its fall season at the ITA Midwest Regional this weekend in Indianapolis.
Cimpeanu and Hackman teamed up for a pair of 8-6 victories over two Great Midwest Athletic Conference foes, beating Findlay's Laiying Alvarado and Samantha Sweet first and then taking down Walsh's Nicole Beidacki and Isabella Sanchez in the quarterfinal match.
The Hillsdale duo's run ended in the semifinal round, as Cimpeanu and Hackman couldn't get by top-seeded Nikol Alexeeva and Anna Novikova of host University of Indianapolis in an 8-3 loss.
This weekend's Midwest Regional was smaller than usual, as GLIAC schools were not in attendance and some GLVC and G-MAC squads opted out, but there were still several of the region's best teams in attendance, led by the perennial championship-contending Greyhounds, who hosted the event.
Playing their first competitive tennis in over six months, the Chargers held their own. On top of their doubles success, both Cimpeanu and Hackman made the Round of 16 in the main singles draw, with Cimpeanu beating Katarina Raszum of Walsh in a 6-1, 5-7, 16-14 thriller to advance and Hackman topping Clara Drasch of Walsh in a similarly exciting 7-5,5-7, 11-9 victory.
Freshman Canela Luna (Rocklin, CA/Rocklin) also advanced to the Round of 16 in the singles draw, beating Chiara Wolff of Walsh 6-2, 6-4 to give Hillsdale three of the top 16 singles finishers in the event.
Julia Wagner (Arroyo Grande, CA/Weil Tennis Academy) and Ellie Chawner (Huddersfield, England/Holmfirth) also did well in singles consolation matches for the Chargers, with Wagner rallying for a 2-6, 6-0, 13-11 win over Maria Kacalova of Walsh and Chawner pulling out a thrilling 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 win over Madison Arquette of Findlay. The pair also teamed up in doubles for a 9-8 consolation win over Clara Drasch and Parvanee Karimpour of Walsh.
Hillsdale will conclude its fall women's tennis season with a home event on Saturday, Oct. 3, when it hosts several G-MAC rivals for the annual Charger Invitational. From there, the Chargers will train through the winter and resume outside competition in February, with conference matches starting in late March.
Photo: Sarah Hackman, taken by Cody Wainscott/University of Indianapolis