The Hillsdale College Chargers routed the Michigan Tech Huskies in a 7-0 shutout on Saturday, improving to 7-1 on the season and 5-0 at home.
“It was nice that we only had one match this weekend, healthwise,” freshman Brian Hackman said, pointing to multiple team injuries. “When you have four difficult matches in two weeks, it can be tough.”
During the singles portion, the Chargers decided five of six matches in only two sets. Only the No. 6 match, featuring freshman Freddie Heegan, extended to three sets. Heegan, who usually doesn’t play singles matches, eventually clinched the chargers shutout with an 11-9 set.
At the No. 1 spot, junior Charlie Adams dominated his match, winning both sets 6-1. Senior Justin Hyman followed suit at No. 2, winning his sets 6-2 and 6-1.
The Chargers’ win comes after a 1-1 weekend where they dropped their first match of the season against the University of Southern Indiana.
“Considering our loss, we were very careful to bring the intensity from the beginning,” Hackman said. “We focused on not letting our lead slip away.”
Hackman and senior John Ciraci won the No. 2 doubles match to clinch the doubles point. Although they wouldn’t need it, Hackman said it was something the team has worked on after the loss against Southern Indiana.
“One of our biggest focuses in practice has been getting the doubles point. It’s doubles doubles doubles,” he said. “We’re learning from the Southern Indiana match.”
Junior Michael Szabo returned last weekend after an injury had kept him out of the Southern Indiana and Bellarmine University matches. He won No. 4 singles with sets of 6-1 and 6-3.
The early lead gave senior Jerry Hewitt the opportunity to play No. 5 singles. He easily won two sets with scores of 6-1 and 6-2.
The Chargers look forward to game this Friday and Sunday against University of Illinois Springfield and Wayne State University, respectively. Friday’s game begins at noon, and Sunday’s begins at 3 p.m. Illinois-Springfield is 4-2 this season, and Wayne State is 5-1. The Chargers are 2-1 on the road this season.
“We’re looking forward to that,” Hackman said. “Wayne State’s a big challenge. We know we can do it but we really just have to bring our A-game.”
