The Hillsdale College women’s tennis team suffered two losses this weekend, losing to Tiffin 4 – 0 and to Findlay 4 – 3. Freshman Melanie Zampardo said these are some of the most difficult teams in the conference.
“I actually feel great about this weekend,” Zampardo said. “Although we didn’t come out on top this time, we still showed up and I think in a neutral location at the conference tournament we’ll have more success against these teams.”
On Saturday, the team traveled to Tiffin and was met with an unusual situation: rather than playing on six courts, the team would be playing on only three courts. Senior Sarah Hackman said she thinks this negatively affected her performance. Hackman and Zampardo lost their doubles match 4 – 6, and Hackman lost her singles match 3 – 6, 5 – 7.
“I wasn’t playing my best that day,” Hackmann said. “Unfortunately, heartbreakingly, I lost that set. I really needed to cut down on some of my errors. I struggled to adapt to the courts. It wasn’t the best facility and I think I let that mess with my head a little bit too much.”
Hackman said she felt more optimistic on Sunday playing against Findlay because there was more support in the stands.
“We had a lot of parents out and it was really nice to have that environment,” Hackman said.
Findlay is one of the team’s main competitors, Hackman said. Despite losing her doubles match with Zampardo 5 – 7, Hackman pulled through in singles and won against Elina Ivanova 6 – 4, 6 – 4.
“I was able to win my match and then all down the line there, everyone left it all out on the court,” Hackman said.
Zampardo also won her singles match, securing the victory with a tie-breaker. She beat Samantha Sweet 6 – 4, 4 – 6, 6 – 2.
“I closed the third set against Findlay, which kept us alive and allowed the last two matches to keep playing,” Zampardo said.
Senior Sophia Spinazze also took home a victory against Findlay, winning her singles match 6 – 0, 2 – 6, 7 – 6 (7 – 4). Spinazze and junior Canela Luna also defeated their opponents in doubles, winning 6 – 3.
Zampardo said she hopes to use some of the lessons learned from this weekend in the following weeks.
“I realized how useful it is just to keep it simple in doubles by putting a deep, steady ball in the court,” Zampardo said. “Hopefully we are able to use this tactic this weekend and at conference.”
The Chargers are now fourth in the standings with a 3 – 2 record in G‑MAC, with a 7 – 8 record overall. Last year, the Chargers were the fourth seed in the G‑MAC Tournament and defeated University of Findlay to win the G‑MAC Championship. Hillsdale needs one more victory to lock up a spot in the G‑MAC Tournament.
Next week, the team will play at Ursuline College on April 15, and at Walsh University on April 16.
“Everyone is still very excited for what’s to come in the next two weeks,” Hackman said.
