The Hillsdale College women’s tennis team closed its season with a 7th place finish at the GLIAC tournament this past weekend.
Held in Midland, Michigan, the tournament began on Friday and finished on Sunday.
After defeating Wayne State the week before, Hillsdale met the Warriors again in the first round of the tournament and fell 5-0.
“I think Friday we were excited to be there, but overall as a team we came out nervous and I don’t think we performed as well as we could have,” freshman Halle Hyman said.
On Saturday, the Chargers continued on to the second round against Saginaw Valley, eventually falling 5-3 to the Cardinals.
The three wins were picked up by seniors Sydney Delp and Lindsay Peirce in singles, and juniors Dana Grace Buck and Jada Bissett at No. 3 doubles.
Sunday, in the third and final match of the tournament, Hillsdale rallied and swept the courts 5-0 against Walsh University.
“We were definitely bummed with our first two matches, but I don’t think that it takes away from matches that were won, or really tough, competitive matches that were fought out really well,” Peirce said. “And I don’t think it takes away from our nice win on Sunday.”
Head coach Nikki Walbright said she was happy with the overall effort the girls showed throughout the tournament.
“The girls fought hard and we definitely showed improvement from everything we were working on through the season,” Walbright said.
At the end of the tournament, Hyman was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year in a vote by conference coaches. Additionally, Hyman was named First-Team All-GLIAC, an honor awarded to only six athletes. Delp earned honorable mention All-GLIAC recognition.
Peirce said that Hyman’s personal achievements this season not only demonstrate a high level of excellence, but give the team something to work towards in coming seasons.
“It sets a high bar for the girls that will be returning and for incoming freshmen next year,” Peirce said. “This is where we want to go, this is our potential. I think we all at moments reached our potential, but our next goal as a team is probably to just be there consistently.”
Now the team looks forward to a brief break before switching gears and beginning their offseason training.
“We work on strengthening and building for our spring season. We’ll add in extra conditioning and work at a more individual level for tennis skill,” Walbright said. “We’re just looking to improve and get stronger for the upcoming seasons.”