The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team dropped its first two conference matches of the season, falling to Tiffin University and Findlay University. The Chargers now sit 4th in the G-MAC with one match left.
Against Tiffin, the 50th ranked team in NCAA DII according to the ITA, the Chargers fell 4-1. At No. 1 doubles, junior Tyler Conrad and sophomore Sean Barstow fell 6-4. Sophomores Brennan Cimpeanu and Daniel Gilbert fell at No. 2 doubles 7-5, while senior Matt Granzotto and junior Bogdan Janicijevic lost 6-4 at No. 3 doubles.
Cimpeanu won at No. 1 singles, 7-6, 6-1 to give the Chargers their lone point of the day.
“Saturday was definitely a tough loss,” Cimpeanu said. “I think the key to having a closer match Sunday was definitely the energy.”
In the match the following day against Findlay, the two teams battled for over four hours before Findlay escaped with a 4-3 win.
“Considering we played so late and we had the match the day prior, we were all a little tired to start the match,” Cimpeanu said. “But definitely as we started playing on Sunday, keeping each other energized and motivated led to a better result overall.”
At No. 1 doubles Barstow and Conrad lost 6-3, while Cimpeanu and Gilbert lost 7-5 at No. 2 doubles. Janicijevic and Granzotto fell 6-2 at No. 3 doubles.
Cimpeanu bounced back at No. 1 singles, winning a back and forth match 6-0, 0-6, 6-1.
“It was probably one of the most interesting matches I’ve played,” Cimpeanu said. “Considering I have a very flat and very aggressive game-style, I like playing with new tennis balls. I was definitely playing well so the first set I was able to just dominate him. However, as the second set rolled around, the balls started to get a little more fluffy, meaning I wouldn’t be able to hit them as hard since they became a little worn, and he used that to his advantage and took control of the second set. Thankfully with the third set, we got new balls and I was able to repeat my first set outcome.”
Conrad won 7-5, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, with Barstow winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.
“I was feeling a bit under the weather this weekend so I wasn’t at my best physically,” Barstow said. “Despite this I was able to shake off the second set loss and Coach and I found the right strategy to win the third set.”
Gilbert and Janicijevic both fell in two sets at No. 4 and No. 5 singles respectively 6-3, 6-4 and 6-3, 6-1. Granzotto fell 6-2, 7-5 at No. 6 singles.
“We know we can beat Tiffin or Findlay if we play them in the conference tournament,” Head Coach Keith Turner said. “ I’m sure they wouldn’t look forward to playing us. Also we were all impressed with how Matt played at the No. 6 spot.”
The Chargers, who moved to 7-9 overall and 3-2 in G-MAC, have one last regular season match, against Walsh University, 14-7 overall and 3-1 in conference, at 1 p.m. on Saturday. While they are locked into a spot in the G-MAC Tournament, which the top four teams in the conference compete in, the Chargers can improve their seeding with a win over Walsh.
“We have high expectations for our program,” Turner said. “The only way we’d consider this a successful season is if we win the G-MAC tournament. We still have the talent to do so but we can’t have anyone having a bad day.”
Cimpeanu said although Tiffin was a tough loss, knowing the Chargers have a shot to defeat both teams at the conference championships will keep the team motivated.
“Although we lost both, we know that despite our difficulties this year, we still have a shot to win it all,” Cimpeanu said.
