The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team, picked first in the G-MAC preseason poll, toppled Daemen College 8-1 on Friday in the Biermann Athletics Center, advancing its record to 2-0.
Sophomore Milan Mirkovic won at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-0.
Sophomore Charlie Adams won No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-0. Adams teamed with junior Justin Hyman to win No. 1 doubles, 8-2.
Freshman Gabe Katz was a No. 4 singles winner, 6-2, 6-3.
Junior John Ciraci won 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 11-9 at No. 5 singles, the longest match of the night, and then teamed up with senior captain Dugan Delp to win at No. 2 doubles, 9-7. He proceeded to win No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-1.
Sophomore Michael Szabo joined sophomore Julien Clouette to win at No. 3 doubles, 8-6.
Head coach Keith Turner said he was satisfied with last weekend’s turnout.
“It was as well as could be expected,” Turner said. “We still have a couple spots where we can play better, but overall, the team played well. Daemen had a competitive lineup where they had solid players at every singles and doubles spot.”
Turner said previous injuries plagued the team.
“Justin couldn’t play last fall because of a fractured ankle and Charlie missed the first week of the season because of being sick. So it’s good to see those guys playing as well.”
Ciraci said Daemen improved since their last match.
“I think it was a good test for us,” Ciraci said. “They got some new players and we still beat them. It shows we’re already that much better this year.”
Ciraci said Mirkovic’s performance on Friday was impressive.
“Milan Mirkovic really killed the kid,” Ciraci said. “He’s gotten better than he ever was and he makes us stronger because he can push guys further down the lineup. And that makes us a really deep, talented team.”
The Chargers’ match against the University of Illinois-Springfield on Saturday was postponed due to snow.
“We really only had one weekend where we could play home matches in the Biermann, and, of course, the match is canceled, so it was really disappointing,” Turner said. “That’s a match we needed to play because they’re a little bit stronger team than Daemen, and we’ve got some very tough matches coming up this weekend.”
Turner said they plan to reschedule the match in Indianapolis in late March dependent on weather.
“We’ve got two very important matches coming up: Northwood on Saturday night and Ferris on Sunday morning, so it’s a tough, tough stretch for us. They are two very good teams. I’m sure Northwood is going to be fired up to play the match since we upset them last year.”
Turner said the Chargers have a shot to beat a top-ranked team.
“Hopefully everyone is completely healthy and, if so, then I think they’re two winnable matches for us,” Turner said. “But they are certainly two matches we could lose. They will be competitive, for sure.”
Turner said Ferris is relatively weaker than last year, while Hillsdale is relatively stronger than last year.
“They’re just not quite as good as before,” Turner said. “We feel like we can compete with them this year when last year we knew we didn’t have much of a shot.”
“I just know that it’s a team we need to beat if we have a chance to make the NCAA tournament because [Ferris is] going to be there.”
“Us and Walsh, assuming we’re healthy, are the favorites to win the conference,” Turner said.
Ferris is ranked 25th in the nation for tennis and 3rd in the region. The Chargers are ranked No. 10 in the region.
Ciraci pointed to experience to explain their success, even though Delp is the lone senior on the team.
“We have a lot more depth this year,” Ciraci said. “Younger players are stepping up to bigger positions and have a lot more experience now. We finally have a senior on the team.”
Ciraci said the team is better as a whole this season.
“I think we’re really confident in our team and the things we can do,” Ciraci said. “Ferris lost a couple guys since last year, so I think anything can happen this weekend. If we can play well, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to come out on top.”