(Photo: Breana Noble | Collegian)
Two more sweeps by the women’s tennis team this weekend have left Hillsdale College 3-0 in its new conference without surrendering a single match point.
“I think it’s just a nice way to be rewarded,” head coach Nikki Walbright said. “Everybody has contributed, and the girls have been working really hard. It’s a nice way to start the year.”
High off being nationally ranked in Division II at No. 47 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for the first time, the Chargers showed no mercy over Easter weekend, shutting out Kentucky Wesleyan University 9-0 on Friday and Cedarville University 9-0 on Saturday. The perfect weekend and its sixth win in a row leaves Hillsdale 8-4 overall.
“The other teams have been really nice, have good sportsmanship, and we have good things to learn from them,” Walbright said. “Our girls are just better players, I think.”
Despite traveling nearly 900 miles over two days, the Chargers managed to stay positive, energetic, and confident in game play, Walbright said.
“I was proud the girls stayed focused, despite all of the time in the van,” she said.
In Owensboro, Kentucky, on Friday, Hillsdale faced Kentucky Wesleyan, with the three singles courts dominating 6-0, 6-0. That came just after Hillsdale’s doubles teams garnered a total of 24 games to Kentucky’s five.
“They did their job quickly and confidently,” Walbright said. “We looked like the better team.”
In singles, sophomore Katie Bell at No. 2, junior Corinne Prost at No. 4, and junior Madeline Bissett at No. 6 all swept their competition.
Prost said it is her teammates who push her in matches and practices. Knowing they’re there to support her drives her to stay focused through the final point, she said.
“Our team strives to uphold the mindset, ‘How can I help my teammates improve?’ whether on the court or in the weight room,” she said. “I can thank my team for giving their personal best each day, because that’s where my success comes from.”
At No. 1 singles, junior Halle Hyman won 6-1, 6-0. Freshman Hannah Cimpeanu at No. 2 won 6-0, 6-1, and sophomore Kamryn Matthews won 6-1, 1-1.
Doubles play, however, had set the tone for the wins. Keeping up with previous weeks, Bissett and Matthews won 8-1 at No. 3 doubles. At No. 1, Bell and Prost won 8-2, while Cimpeanu and Hyman also were victorious 8-2 on court two.
“All nine positions had awesome matches,” Walbright said. “Everybody was confident. We were very strong, top to bottom.”
After dominating the Panthers, the Chargers traveled to Ohio to squash the Yellow Jackets on Saturday at Cedarville University’s Johnson-Murdoch Tennis Complex.
Right away, Hillsdale proved itself on top. Bell and Prost at No. 1 doubles won 8-0. Cimpeanu and Hyman followed closely behind at No. 2, winning 8-2. At No. 3, Bissett and Matthews were victorious 8-4.
The women kept up the energy into singles competition. Cimpeanu at No. 2, Matthews at No. 5, and Bissett at No. 6 shut out their opponents 6-0, 6-0.
Hyman at No. 1 took care of business, winning 6-3, 6-1. So did Bell at No. 3 with a 6-0, 6-2 win, and Prost at No. 4 won 6-2, 6-1.
Walbright said both teams did keep the Chargers on their toes, testing their footwork and hustle to set the pace of the game and be quick to get each ball. Such activity along with doubles play and shot selection will be of focus over the next few weeks as G-MAC competition continues to ramp up.
This weekend, the Chargers, who have been voted No. 1 in the conference by G-MAC coaches, face Alderson Broaddus University for the first time at noon on Saturday and Davis & Elkins College at 1 p.m. on Saturday at home.
“It’s tough to know how it’ll go, because we’ve never played them,” Walbright said, “But we’re hoping to have similar results to this weekend. Still, we’re taking them seriously, and we’ll do our best.”
