The Hillsdale College men's tennis team faced the toughest competition they'll see all fall at the 2023 ITA Midwest Regional hosted by Grand Valley State University this weekend, and the Chargers came away with their share of wins from the event.
The ITA Midwest Regional brings together the best players from across the region at the NCAA DII level from all three conferences that make up the region -- the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Great Lakes Valley Conference, and Hillsdale's Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
With a young squad facing down challenging matches, Hillsdale got a solid showing from two freshmen in singles. Playing in their first ITA Midwest Regional event, Ellis Klanduch and Henry Hammond each brought home a victory in the B Draw for the Chargers.
Playing in the consolation bracket after a tough opening round loss, Klanduch went on a run to the quarterfinals with impressive wins over Ethan Shoesmith of Findlay (6-3, 6-3) and Joao Martins of Purdue Northwest (6-2, 6-4) before falling to Ignasi Garros of Grand Valley State University in a hard-fought three set match (2-6, 6-2, 9-11).
Hammond, meanwhile, picked up an impressive victory in the opening round of the consolation bracket, holding off Walsh's Fedor Kuznetsov 6-1, 4-6, 10-8 to pick up his first-ever ITA win, before falling to eventual semifinalist Joe Harris of Rockhurst in a competitive 6-3, 7-5 match.
The Chargers also got a win each from two doubles teams. After a first round loss in the A flight, seniors Tyler Conrad and Sean Barstow paired up for a hard-fought 9-8 tiebreak victory over a team from Findlay in the consolation bracket to advance to the round of 16.
In flight B, Klanduch teamed with sophomore Aidan Pack to win their first round match in the main draw 8-6 over a team from Walsh, falling only to the third-seeded team from Indianapolis in the second round.
Hillsdale wraps up the fall portion of its schedule this weekend with a four team home invitational, welcoming new G-MAC foe Thomas More, Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech to the Delp Tennis Courts on Saturday and Sunday.
Photo by Anthony Lupi