The Hillsdale College women's tennis team tested itself against one of the best teams in the country on Wednesday, taking a tough 7-0 loss but gaining valuable experience for upcoming conference play.
The Chargers fell to host Nova Southeastern, the second-ranked team in all of NCAA DII in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. The Sharks took all nine matches to clinch the victory.
In doubles competition, Hillsdale's No. 2 team of freshman Libby McGivern and sophomore Julia Wagner came the closest to victory, taking two games in their match when it was suspended because Nova Southeastern had already clinched the doubles point.
The Chargers also got strong performances from junior Canela Luna, who fell 6-2, 6-2 to Natalie Espinal, the seventh ranked singles player in NCAA DII, at No. 2 singles, and from freshman Courtney Rittel at No. 6 singles, who lost a 6-2, 6-2 match to Nika Kozar, the 23rd-ranked player in NCAA DII.
Hillsdale wraps up its Florida Spring Break trip with a match against Palm Beach Atlantic today at 3 p.m., before returning to Hillsdale for an important G-MAC match against Ashland on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Photo by Anthony Lupi