The Hillsdale College men's tennis team kicked off a promising season with a solid performance at the team's season-opening Summer Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.
All seven healthy Chargers players got several matches in over the course of the two-day event, which included perennial G-MAC title contenders Findlay and Walsh, as well as NAIA squad Lawrence Tech.
In the A singles draw, Hillsdale senior Tyler Conrad went 1-1 to lead the Chargers, winning his opening match against Philip Peter Carstensen of Walsh, 6-3, 7-6 (5) before falling to Dallas Ramsey of Findlay in a tight match that went to a third-set tiebreak in the semifinal. Teammate Sean Barstow, also playing in the A draw, lost in the opening round but bounced back to win the consolation bracket, beating Findlay's Luigi Bove 6-3, 5-7, 10-6 before taking the final over Carstensen by injury default.
In the B draw, sophomore Aidan Pack put together an impressive run, winning three straight matches to take the flight crown. Pack beat Findlay's Andrew Codita 6-3, 6-4 in the first round, Lawrence Tech's Takuya King 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinal, and was up 6-2 on Findlay's Wilfredo Lara when Lara retired with an injury in the final.
The Chargers also put together a solid run in doubles in the A draw, as seniors Conrad and Barstow teamed up to reach the final. Conrad and Barstow beat King and Antoine Huarez of Lawrence Tech 6-4 in the opening round and Bove and Ramsay of Findlay 8-6 in a tiebreak in a thrilling semifinal before coming up just short against Findlay's Lara and Ethan Shoesmith in another tiebreak in the final.
Hillsdale will take the next weekend off in preparation for the signature event of the fall in the Midwest, the ITA Midwest Regional, hosted by Grand Valley State on Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. All of the top players at the NCAA DII level in the Midwest Region will compete in the event, making it a perfect measuring stick for where the Chargers are at as they head into winter training for the spring season.
Photo by Hope Canlas