The Hillsdale College women's tennis team dug deep and won an important G-MAC match over Walsh, 4-3, by a razor thin margin at home on Sunday.
In a match where every point mattered, Hillsdale got a big early victory in doubles, sweeping all three matches to claim the doubles point. Senior Sarah Hackman and junior Melanie Zampardo rolled to a 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles for the Chargers, sophomore Libby McGivern and senior Ellie Chawner won a 6-3 victory at No. 2 doubles, and senior Canela Luna and freshman Megan Hackman took a 6-2 victory at No. 3 doubles as well for Hillsdale.
With the doubles point secured, Hillsdale needed to win just three of the six singles matches to get the victory, and the Chargers delivered. Sarah Hackman earned the win at No. 1 singles over Risako Umekuni of Walsh to start things off, and McGivern completed an undefeated day with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Carla Padberg of Walsh at No. 4 singles as well.
In the critical moment of the match, Chawner pulled out a three-set thriller at No. 6 singles to clinch the victory, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 over Isabella Sanchez of Walsh to finish off a big win.
The Chargers are now 5-7 overall, 2-1 in G-MAC play and in a four way tie for third place in the conference standings behind leaders Tiffin and Findlay. The Chargers are now within striking distance of a top four seed in the season-ending G-MAC tournament but will need a strong finish with several more important matches to play in April, starting with a trip to Kentucky Wesleyan for a match next Saturday.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan