The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team swept Kentucky Wesleyan College without dropping a set for their second straight G-MAC victory. Sophomores Sean Barstow and Brennan Cimpeanu played at No. 1 doubles for the first time since Feb. 6, winning 6-1.
“Brennan and Sean are still ranked No. 9 in the nation in doubles,” Head Coach Keith Turner said. “I’m trying to keep them together on occasion so hopefully they can keep their ranking through the spring and into next fall.”
Junior Tyler Conrad joined sophomore Daniel Gilbert for a 6-0 No. 2 doubles win, while senior Matt Granzotto made his debut with the Chargers with junior Bodgan Janiciejevic to win 6-4 at No. 3 doubles.
“Matt is fast and a really good athlete,” Turner said. “It was important to get him some experience that will hopefully help for the rest of the season. He has a good backhand and it allowed us to move Bogdan to the deuce side which is his stronger side.”
Conrad and Barstow both won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Gilbert wrapped up the day with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep at No. 4 singles.
“I’d say the biggest change from freshman year is playing a little bit higher in the lineup at 2 doubles and 4 singles,” Gilbert said. “The competition is a bit better so I have to bring my all every match.”
Conrad and Gilbert played together at doubles for the first time since the fall.
“There was a small adjustment playing with Daniel simply because we haven’t played together since the fall, and he and Sean are very different doubles players,” Conrad said. “Fortunately, we weren’t facing an extremely tough test in Kentucky Wesleyan so there was a bit less pressure on us, allowing us to click pretty quickly.”
The Chargers are now 4-2 in their last six matches with only four matches left before the G-MAC Tournament April 22-23. The last home match of the season is Saturday, April 2 against Cedarville University, who are 0-2 in conference play.
“As far as home games go, there aren’t any secrets to it for us,” Conrad said. “Oftentimes we have just as hard a time with home matches as we do away. The only advantage of being home we have is that indoors we have lights that shine down instead of up, which can cause visitors some difficulty on serves and overheads, and we are used to it.”