The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team won their third straight with a 7-2 win over visiting Spring Arbor University on Friday afternoon.
With No. 1 singles player freshman Justin Hyman out of the game, each player shifted one spot up, with the sixth singles spot forfeited. As the third doubles game was also unable to be played, Hillsdale entered the matched down 0-2.
“Honestly, everyone played really well,” Hillsdale head coach Keith Turner said. “The Spring Arbor team was down a little. Traditionally they’re a difficult team. My best player was down with the flu, so everyone had to move up a spot.”
Despite the slight handicap, sophomore Dugan Delp said everyone rose to the occasion.
“We were excited to be playing a spot ahead of what we normally play and mix up the doubles a little bit,” Delp said.
Delp himself, bumped up to the No. 1 spot, won for the third straight time in singles, 6-2, 6-0.
Sophomore Gianpiero Placidi won 6-0, 6-0 in No. 2 singles, and teamed up with Delp in No. 1 doubles with an 8-3 win.
“We’ve been making big improvements, definitely,” Placidi said in reference to doubles. “Dugan and I had a good match and before that I played with John Ciraci and we had some good wins.”
Turner noted that doubles is an intended area of improvement in practice.
“Doubles has been a focus,” Turner said. “With our current court situation, where we only have two courts, going forward we’ll have to find a way to win two of the three matches in doubles.”
In No. 2 doubles, freshman John Ciraci and freshman Zach Rabitoy took an 8-2 win and each won their singles matches.
In No. 5 singles, Jerry Hewitt won with 6-3, 6-0.
Turner noted that three straight wins at the beginning of the season have given the young team a boost of confidence.
“It’s hugh because we didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “We didn’t know what the competition was going to be like. To get off to such a good start has given us encouragement and confidence, and we’ll need that with such a tough competition coming up.”
