In a lengthy and tough battle on the road on Sunday, the Hillsdale College men's tennis team showed its grit in a thrilling 4-3 victory over Davenport for its first win of the spring.
Hillsdale got off to a strong start by claiming the doubles point for the second time in two matches. Hillsdale's top pairing of senior Sean Barstow and sophomore Aidan Pack delivered a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles for the Chargers, while Hillsdale's No. 3 doubles team of Daniel Gilbert and Henry Hammond rolled to a 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles to give the Chargers an early lead on the scoreboard over the Panthers.
In singles, Hillsdale's two freshmen came through in a big way to help secure the victory for the Chargers. At No. 3 singles, Ellis Klanduch got off to a strong start with a 6-1 first set victory over Davenport's Carlos Henriquez, then held off a rally by his Panthers opponent in the second set to win a 7-4 tiebreak and get the point for Hillsdale.
He was joined by Hammond, who dominated his No. 5 singles match from start to finish for a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Davenport's Jose Brenes Villarreal. Veteran Sean Barstow clinched the victory for the Chargers at No. 4 singles, rallying from a 6-3 first set loss to beat Davenport's Marius Pion 6-3, 7-5 in the next two sets and close out the match.
While he didn't get the victory, Pack also put up an impressive fight for the Chargers at No. 1 singles, rallying with a 6-4 second set victory to send his match against the Panthers' Jan Stolin the distance.
Hillsdale is now 1-1 overall and will prepare for two more matches next weekend, as the Chargers travel to NAIA opponent Cornerstone on Friday for an afternoon match, before hosting Michigan Tech on Saturday in the Biermann Center.
Photo by Hope Canlas