At the ITA Regional Small College Championship, the Hillsdale Chargers got their first experience in collegiate competition since March. The Chargers found positive results in the individual style tournament in Indianapolis, where they faced off against some of the top teams in the Midwest.
“It was very good for the girls to get a realistic idea of where we are,” head coach Nikki Walbright said. “Nobody’s been able to compete since last year, so for some of them it was the first competitive match they’ve had in a really long time.”
With the GLIAC suspending intercollegiate athletics this year, the Midwest region featured teams from Hillsdale’s G-MAC as well as the GLVC. The Southeast was the only other region in the country hosting its regional championship tournament.
In the singles draw, sophomore Sarah Hackman and junior Hannah Cimpeanu advanced to the round of 16. Hackman fought hard to get there with a long three-set match against Walsh that she eventually put away in an extended tiebreak, 7–5, 5–7, (9).
Cimpeanu had a similar first-round battle against Walsh. After putting away the first set in a breeze, she had trouble topping her opponent in the second set and outlasted a tight extended tiebreak that lasted 30 points, 6–1, 5–7, (14).
“I especially had to have a strong mental game to help me through the ups and downs of the match,” Cimpeanu said. “In the end, you just have to take everything one point at a time until the match is over. Until then, anything can happen.”
Hackman and Cimpeanu advanced to the quarterfinal in the doubles draw, beating Findlay and Walsh before losing to the top-seeded team from the University of Indianapolis, 8–6.
“We played and communicated well with one another, and it helped us come out with some nice results,” Cimpeanu said.
Walbright said she saw a lot of positives in the Chargers’ top doubles team who have developed a great relationship on the court in the three years they’ve competed together.
“Hannah and Sarah played awesome, their doubles was great,” Walbright said. “They played really well against the girls that ended up winning the tournament.”
Down the lineup, sophomore Canela Luna won in straight sets against Walsh, 6–2, 6–4, to advance to the round of 16 before losing in straight sets to the no. 2 seeded Anna Novikova from the University of Indianapolis.
“I think the first day, everyone at the end of the day said, ‘You know, we can play a little better,’ and it was a little eye-opening as to what they wanted to do,” Walbright said. “So I think everyone came back the second day and improved, even though they were super tired and kinda sore, but I think everyone played even better the second day.”