The Hillsdale Chargers came away from their second tournament of the semester with more experience under their belt. At the NWO Invitational in Lima, Ohio, Hillsdale played plenty of matches, yielding positive results.
Leading up to the tournament, one of the four teams dropped out, which forced the remaining three teams to figure out what to do on the day of the scheduled event. Despite the uncertainty of the tournament format, Hillsdale, Tippin University, and University of Northern Ohio were able to get in a weekend’s worth of singles and doubles matchplay in Lima.
“We played a lot of matches and got nice results, but there wasn’t a ‘tournament winner’ of sorts,” coach Nikki Walbright said.
Rather, says freshman Sophia Spinazze, the Chargers worked on their match mentality and enjoyed being with their teammates.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “I was so excited to play for Hillsdale and have the chance to get better after my first tournament last weekend.”
Weekends like these for Spinazze—even if they don’t crown a winner—help make the transition onto the team easier.
“College tennis is a lot different, and I’ve really liked it,” Spinazze said. “There’s always something to improve on.”
Since coming to college, Spinazze says she has improved a lot in a short amount of time thanks to her coach and her new teammates.
“By getting to play all the other girls on the team I’ve seen things to emulate to improve my play,” Spinazze said.
This weekend, the Chargers will have their “Hillsdale Doubles Day” and have a chance to switch up their doubles partners in an informal setting.
