The Hillsdale College men's tennis team hosted a battle of G-MAC title contenders on Friday afternoon, but despite a fierce fight the Chargers couldn't overcome Findlay in a 6-1 loss in a match played in the Biermann Center.
Despite several matches that went the distance, Hillsdale found itself on the wrong end of too many close results in the loss to the Oilers, starting with a hotly contested doubles point. Hillsdale played Findlay close in all three flights and got a big 7-5 victory at No. 2 doubles from senior Tyler Conrad and freshman Ellis Klanduch, but lost hard-fought and competitive matches at No. 1 and No. 3 singles by tight 7-5 and 6-4 margins.
In singles play, senior Daniel Gilbert got Hillsdale's lone point with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory over Findlay's Maneo Gaborin at No. 6 singles, showing his veteran savvy in easily dispatching the Oilers' talented freshman. The Chargers were close in several other flights but ultimately were unable to come away with the victory. Both senior Sean Barstow at No. 3 singles and Klanduch at No. 4 singles pushed their opponents to third sets in close, hard-fought matches but came up short in narrow defeats, while Conrad and freshman Henry Hammond also played competitive sets at No. 2 singles and No. 5 singles, respectively, with Conrad falling by a tight 6-4, 7-5 margin and Hammond by a 7-5, 7-5 score in two well-played matches by both players.
Hillsdale is now 10-7 overall, 5-1 in G-MAC play and still has a shot at a share of the title if the Chargers can upset defending G-MAC Champion Tiffin in a match tomorrow at 3 p.m. and the Dragons can knock off the Oilers later in the season. It'll be a tough task for the Chargers but Hillsdale will play the Dragons outside on the Delp Tennis Courts and will be hungry for a good result on Senior Day, and the final home match for graduating players and legendary four-year starters Conrad, Barstow and Gilbert, who were part of Hillsdale's last G-MAC championship team as freshmen in 2021.
Photo by Reva Ludwig