As the calendar turns to the fall of 2021, the Hillsdale College women's tennis team hopes to use the momentum from an excellent finish last year to its advantage in its quest to get back to the top in the G-MAC.
Hillsdale opens the season in the Indianapolis area this weekend, playing in the always tough ITA Midwest Regional against virtually all of the region's top players
The Chargers return five of their six lineup singles players from a 2020-21 team that rebounded from a rough start to win a third consecutive G-MAC Tournament title and clinch a third straight NCAA Tournament berth. The one that's gone is a big loss, though – three-time first team All-G-MAC honoree and No. 1 singles player Hannah Cimpeanu.
Hillsdale has a strong core to build around as it looks to replace Cimpeanu, led by senior Sarah Hackman, a two-time All-G-MAC honoree who battled through injuries and had a strong G-MAC Tournament performance as the Chargers' No. 2 singles player and Cimpeanu's partner at No. 1 doubles.
Junior Canela Luna and senior Sophia Spinazze are also extremely experienced and rock-solid players for the Chargers who will look to take another step forward in 2021-22. Both Luna and Spinazze won critical matches in the semifinals and finals at No. 3 and 4 singles, respectively, for the Chargers in the G-MAC tournament, and the pair posted a combined 19-5 record in singles play on the season.
Junior Ellie Chawner, sophomore Helana Formentin and senior Tatum Matthews all saw their roles increase in 2020-21 as well, and will look to build off last season's campaigns.
Hillsdale also has high hopes for sophomore Julia Wagner, who showed promise as a freshman but battled injuries all season long and appeared in just four of the Chargers' 14 matches. If healthy, Wagner will be in a strong position to improve Hillsdale's lineup in 2021-22.
Another potential X-factor for the Chargers is the arrival of three newcomers to the team. Freshmen Courtney Rittel and Libby McGivern are both coming off of strong USTA Junior careers and will be given the opportunity to compete for a spot in the lineup immediately as both singles and doubles players. Sophomore Melanie Zampardo, a late addition to the roster, joins Hillsdale from a strong Wayne State team and brings significant collegiate experience and talent to the Chargers as well.
Hillsdale will face tough tests in the G-MAC. Tournament runner-up Findlay returns its lineup intact to chase its first conference crown, and while the top two regular season teams, Tiffin and Walsh, suffered extensive graduation losses, both teams should reload quickly with large and talented freshman classes. The addition of Ashland should give the G-MAC another quality program and potentially shake up the qualifying process for the four-team conference tournament – Hillsdale, Findlay, Walsh and Tiffin have qualified for every single tournament since they joined the conference.
You can find the full schedule for the Charger women's tennis team here.