The Hillsdale College men's tennis team continued to show its grit early in the season, pulling out a tense 4-3 match that came down to the final points for the second straight week in a 4-3 victory over visiting Michigan Tech.
Success for the Chargers started once again with capturing the doubles point. Hillsdale's No. 1 doubles team of Sean Barstow and Aidan Pack improved to 3-0 in dual match play with a 6-3 victory over Michigan Tech's Leon Sell and Landon Coates, and the Chargers' No. 3 doubles team of Henry Hammond and Daniel Gilbert also remained undefeated so far in the spring with a 6-2 victory over the Huskies' Ian Pinnoo and Ricardo Nunez Cuesta.
In singles play, Hillsdale won three impressive victories to clinch the match. Senior Tyler Conrad won two hard-fough tiebreaks over Michigan Tech's Sell to win at No. 2 doubles in straight sets, 7-6 (5) and 7-6 (4), while freshman Ellis Klanduch turned the tables on the Huskies' Adam Fenjiro after losing the first set 6-4, rolling to 6-2, 6-0 victories in the next two sets at No. 3 singles.
Gilbert clinched the match win for Hillsdale and an undefeated day with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over the Huskies' Pinnoo at No. 6 singles as well for the Chargers. Along with those three victories, Pack at No. 1 singles and Barstow at No. 5 singles each pushed their Michigan Tech opponent to three sets before falling.
Hillsdale improves to 2-1 on the season ahead of a trip to Pennsylvania next weekend, where the Chargers will play Edinboro on Saturday, Feb. 17, and Mercyhurst on Sunday, Feb. 18.
Photo by Anthony Lupi