The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team won its third straight match, defeating Cedarville University 5-2 in its final home match of the season, with junior Tyler Conrad winning G-MAC Player of the Week.
The Chargers remain undefeated in the G-MAC, with only three matches remaining before the G-MAC Tournament.
The Chargers lost the doubles point, with only No. 1 doubles team Conrad and sophomore Sean Barstow winning in a 7-6 (7-4) match.
“We knew we were the stronger team,” Conrad said. “The other team kept playing beyond themselves in the big moments so if we were able to remain solid. We knew they would eventually drop their level a bit.”
Sophomores Brennan Cimpeanu and Daniel Gilbert played at No. 2 doubles, falling 6-2, while junior Bogdan Janicijevic and senior Matt Granzotto fell 6-3 at No. 3 doubles.
With the Chargers needing a strong showing in singles, they won five out of six matches to secure the victory.
Cimpeanu, the 12th-ranked singles player in the nation, won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, with Conrad winning 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, securing his second Player of the Week award of the season.
“It feels awesome to win the award again this week,” Conrad said. “Cedarville gave me a good match and it’s great that my efforts were recognized for it.”
At No. 3 singles, Barstow won 6-2, 6-3, with Gilbert winning at No. 4 singles 6-1, 6-1. Granzotto at No. 6 singles won 6-4, 6-2, his first singles win as a Charger.
“I loved the idea of playing tennis at a high intensity and wanted to help out the team,” Granzotto said. “I never considered walking on before.”
Head Coach Keith Turner said while it’s been a small sample size but Granzotto is doing a great job.
“If he can minimize his unforced errors and get a few more first serves in, he could compete with anyone at the No. 6 spot in our conference,” Turner said.
The Chargers now head to Tiffin to take on Tiffin University on Saturday, April 9 in a rematch of the G-MAC Tournament final last season, where Hillsdale won 4-3. Tiffin is 13-7 overall and 2-1 in conference.
“I’m sure they’ll be looking for revenge,” Turner said. “The biggest thing is that we need all 3 doubles teams to play well. If we can get the doubles point, we feel like we can win any of the remaining conference matches.”
On Sunday, April 10, the Chargers take on the University of Findlay, who is 2-1 in conference and 8-11 overall.
“It’s the biggest weekend of the year so there won’t be any issues staying engaged for Findlay,” Turner said. “There won’t be any subbing for the rest of the year. I liked what I saw at the Cedarville match.”
