After suffering two losses a week before, the Hillsdale women’s tennis team gained two major wins this weekend against regional foes, while senior Canela Luna grabbed the G-MAC Player of the Week award for the second week in a row.

With a 4-3 victory over Purdue Northwest Feb. 18 and a 5-2 win over Michigan Technological University Feb. 19, the Hillsdale women’s tennis team is now 3-2 overall on the season.

Freshman Sarah Hackman said the Charger’s success over Purdue and Michigan Tech had a positive effect on the team.

“The matches this weekend were a solid bounce back for the team after last weekend,” Sarah said. “Everyone came in looking for a win.”

Sophomore Libby McGivern and senior Ellie Chawner opened with a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles that helped them take a 1-0 advantage over Purdue. Seniors Megan Hackman and Canela Luna followed in suit with a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles.

Coming out on top in singles play, both Luna and sophomore Courtney Rittel secured straight-set wins, which left Purdue in need of a comeback. Luna finished 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 3 spot, and Rittel showcased her skills in her first singles lineup this season, winning 6-2, 7-6 at the No. 6 spot.

Rittel said she was proud of the Charger’s strength and cohesion against Purdue and thrilled about their accomplishments as a team.

“It was an awesome match on the road against Purdue Northwest,” Rittel said. “The team fought really hard and won the doubles point. We all came out strong in singles and everyone battled to the last point. We won 4-3 and those three matches we lost were all in third sets.”
To finalize the Chargers’ victory, McGivern cleared her opponent and secured the third win at No. 4 singles, clinching the match 6-0, 6-7, 6-1.

Besides McGivern, Sarah, Chawner, and junior Melanie Zampardo were the only other players to go three sets in singles play. Although Sarah, Zampardo, and Chawner lost in singles, the Chargers saw enough success at the outset of the match for the team to take the advantage in the end.

“With Purdue Northwest we had four matches go to third sets, meaning it was very close, but we all stepped up and pushed each other to keep fighting for those wins,” Sarah said.

The next day, the Chargers took on the Michigan Tech Huskies at the Biermann Center Feb. 19.
Sarah and Zampardo started the day with a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles, and Luna and Megan also won 6-4 at No. 3 doubles.

“Getting the doubles point against Purdue Northwest and Michigan Tech set up with the momentum to start singles off strong,” Sarah said.

Sarah won 6-4, 6-4 at No.1 singles, while Zampardo took a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles, Luna earned her second straight set win with a 7-5, 6-0 victory at No. 3 singles, and McGivern finished 7-5, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.

The two weekend wins came despite a late night of travel back from the first match.

“We got home super late on Saturday but came out strong again on Sunday and won our match 5-2,” Rittel said. “The team was super encouraging on and off the court and it was a great weekend for the chargers.”
The Chargers now prepare for their next match against Grand Valley State University Feb. 25 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.