Courtesy: Hillsdale College Athletic Department
Hillsdale men’s tennis doubles teams went head-to-head in the Flight A final in the season-opening home invitational Sept. 13-14.
The invitational included the University of Findlay, Walsh University, and Lawrence Technological University.
Sophomore team Ryan Papazov and Sam Plys took the Chargers to victory in Flight A, defeating Walsh 8-2, Findlay 8-5, and Hillsdale’s pairing of sophomore Alex Cordero Lopez and freshman Patrick Cretu 8-4 in the final match.
“We were able to communicate very well and were able to play consistently for the whole tournament,” Plys said.
Cordero Lopez and Cretu won their matches against Findlay 8-4 and Walsh 8-5 but lost the Flight A final against teammates Papazov and Plys.
Papazov said the intrasquad match was a battle.
“Every point was well fought for and very tiring, long, and difficult,” Papazov said.
Sophomore Rintaro Goda and freshman Jackson Clements also took the Chargers to the podium, battling their way to place third in Flight D with a 8-6 victory over a team from Findlay.
Head coach Keith Turner said he was impressed by his team’s improvement.
“Doubles as a whole was an improvement from last year,” Turner said.
Goda had an impressive run in Flight D singles, battling all the way to the final. He defeated Conner Nguyen of Findlay with a 6-0, 6-2 win and beat Cameron Davis of Findlay with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.
Despite a loss in the Flight D final, Papazov said Goda was playing exceptionally well.
“Watching him in the final was definitely something you would not want to miss,” Papazov said.
Plys agreed with Papazov.
“He played high-quality tennis and fought hard every point,” said Plys.
Plys triumphed over Joan Dasi, an opponent from Walsh, with a score of 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-3. The match went to two tiebreakers.
“It had been a while since I played a proper match against a player of that caliber, and I was happy that I found a way to stay on top,” Plys said.
Papazov said he has high hopes for the upcoming season.
“It’s going to be an exciting year,” Papazov said. “Lots of fun, lots of lessons, probably a few tears, a little bit of blood, and a hell of a lot of sweat.”
The team’s next tournament is the ITA Regionals in Grand Rapids Sept. 27-28.
