The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team combined for a 18-9 record last weekend at the West Liberty Invitational in West Virginia.
Seven other teams in the Atlantic region competed in the season-opening event: Bluefield State, Fairmont State, Edinboro, West Liberty, Tiffin, Charleston, and West Virginia Wesleyan.
Sophomore Milan Mirkovic, one of the region’s top freshman last year, won at No. 1 singles, beating Bluefield State’s Alex Rudenco 4-6, 6-1, 3-0. Rudenco was ranked 11th in the Division II Atlantic region in 2017. Bluefield State ranked first in the same region, and was ranked 41st in the nation, according to the 2016-17 Oracle/ITA Division II men’s collegiate tennis rankings.
Junior John Ciraci won at No. 3 singles 6-4, 6-3 in the finals, beating out Edinboro.
Sophomore Julian Clouette and freshman Gabe Katz advanced to the finals of the six singles draw, which was played on the Mary Jane Delp tennis courts Tuesday due to game delays from inclement weather on Friday. Katz claimed the victory, beating Clouette 6-3, 6-1.
Katz and sophomore Nico de Enrique Schmidt pushed their way to the finals of the 3-4 doubles draw.
Clouette and junior Jerry Hewitt reached the semifinals of the 3-4 doubles draw, but were knocked out by Edinboro.
Katz said the tennis program heavily influenced his decision to attend Hillsdale.
“I wanted to go somewhere where there are players who are better than me, and players who are my level who could push me to get better,” Katz said. “This was that school.”
The Chargers’ roster is now at 10 — the largest in the team’s history.
“It will make everyone more competitive,” Ciraci said. “At the end of the day, our goal is to put the best six players forward so our team can win. It will make everyone work a little bit harder every day knowing that if they don’t work hard, they won’t play.”
Head coach Keith Turner said that the Chargers performed well.
“We were clearly one of the best teams out there.”
The Chargers competed without junior Justin Hyman, who has an ankle injury. Senior captain Dugan Delp only played doubles matches to provide the freshman more playing time.
Hyman will play doubles in next weekend’s tournament, according to Turner, while the team will compete without Delp, who is taking the LSAT Saturday.
Turner said that although the team played well, they still need to be more aggressive in doubles matches. Overall, Turner said that he was proud of the team’s performance.
“Our guys were in better shape than any other team,” Turner said. “The match play prepared us for next week.”
This was the first year the Chargers competed in the West Liberty Invitational, which was scheduled to warm up the team for the ITA Regionals.
Ciraci said the team has grown exponentially since his freshman year.
“Last year, we became regionally ranked — impressive for a second year team. Last year was a big step from the year before, and we have a chance to do very well this year.”
Hyman and sophomore Charlie Adams ranked the No. 8 doubles team in the Midwest region last year. Ciraci said that he thinks they can rank higher, and that the team can add to individual regional rankings.
“I think we have multiple people who can be in the top 20 in the region for singles,” Hyman said.
The Chargers will compete in the ITA Regionals on Sept. 15. Ciraci said that the team’s performance this weekend could affect national rankings.
“Every school in the Midwest region in Division II competes in the tournament, and if you play well, it can impact regional rankings,” Ciraci said. “It’s also a great indicator of how we stand against the teams around us. Come the end of the season, these are the teams we will be competing against for the NCAA tournament.”