The Hillsdale College women's tennis team saw the 2024 regular season draw to a close on Sunday night with a narrow 5-2 loss to Walsh on the road.
Hillsdale captured the doubles point from Walsh to start the match with a 1-0 lead, led by a 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles by the Chargers' pairing of senior Melanie Zampardo and sophomore Megan Hackman, and a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles by junior Courtney Rittel and freshman Ane Dannhauser, but the Chargers just couldn't find the juice to pull out enough close singles matches in a tight match that went down to the wire.
Rittel finished an undefeated day by getting a point for the Chargers at No. 4 singles, rallying from a 6-4 loss in the first set to Walsh' Chiara Wolff with back-to-back 6-0, 6-0 victories in the final two sets in an impressive close.
Every other one of the four finished matches either included a tiebreak, went to a third set, or both, but Hillsdale was unable to find the two victories it needed to take the match. The Chargers finish the regular season at 8-13 overall, 5-4 in the G-MAC, and now turn their focus to the upcoming G-MAC Tournament at the Center Court in Owensboro, Kentucky, beginning next Thursday. Hillsdale will be the five seed, and will get an immediate rematch with the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, hoping that a change in venue, a neutral court and additional time to prepare will help the Chargers change the result in the rematch.
Photo by Anthony Lupi