Despite significant challenges, the Hillsdale College women's tennis team found success at the always-tough ITA Midwest Regional hosted by the University of Indianapolis this weekend.
The three-day event, which brings together the top players from every team in the midwest at the Division II level, is difficult to have any level of success in, but the Chargers persevered through tough matchups, led by the doubles team of senior Sophia Spinazze and sophomore Julia Wagner.
The pair lost their opener in the B doubles bracket to a team from Lake Superior State, but came back strong in the consolation bracket, winning three straight matches to take the consolation crown. Spinazze and Wagner's victories included an 8-2 win over the fourth-seeded team of Georgina Cupper and Victoria Lisson from Maryville in the semifinal, and a similarly dominant 8-2 victory over Sophia Hanover and Olivia Huang of Grand Valley St. University in the final to take the title.
A doubles crown was part of a strong weekend for Spinazze, who was the only Charger to earn a main draw win in singles, downing Viola Cipriani of McKendree 6-2, 6-1 in her A Singles opener to advance to the round of 32. Spinazze's run ended at the hands of UIndy's seventh-seeded Sofiia Sharonova, who was a semifinalist in the A draw on the weekend, in a 6-2, 6-4 defeat.
Two other Chargers had strong showings in the consolation bracket of the A singles draw after opening round losses. Senior Sarah Hackman bounced back from an early defeat with four straight wins to make the consolation semifinal round, beating Ashland's Claudia Adcock 6-4, 6-3, Davenport's Isabella Carofano 6-3, 6-0 and Southern Indiana's Lauren Rowe 6-3, 6-3 before being forced to withdraw due to an injury.
Similarly, junior Canela Luna had a strong response to an early main draw loss, beating Saginaw Valley St.'s Sara Neves 7-5, 6-0 and Northwood's Iryna Trystan 6-0, 6-0 to reach the consolation quarterfinals before she, too, withdrew with an injury.
Luna also had a strong A doubles performance, teaming with freshman Libby McGivern and overcoming an opening round loss to beat a team from Illinois-Springfield 8-6 and a team from McKendree 8-5 before falling in the consolation semifinals to a team from Drury 8-2.
The Chargers will look to build off a solid opener against tough competition, hosting Wayne State this Friday at 4 p.m. in a fall dual match. While it's still early in the season, Wayne St. is usually one of the top teams in the GLIAC and the Midwest Region, and a victory could give Hillsdale an early leg up in the regional rankings.
Photo by Jordan Menard, University of Indianapolis