Junior Ane Dannhauser is still undefeated at No. 1 singles.
Courtesy | Hillsdale Athletic Department

The women’s tennis team lost for the first time this season, falling 5-2 to the Ferris State University Bulldogs Feb. 21 and 4-3 to the Davenport University Panthers Feb. 22. 

Junior Ané Dannhauser was named Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Week Feb. 23 for the third time this season. She remains undefeated at No. 1 singles, beating her Bulldogs opponent 6-4, 7-5, and her Panthers opponent 6-4, 6-3. The team’s season record is 5-2. 

“I was down on Saturday, but stayed calm and managed to get back into the match and turn it around, which goes to show that the hard work is paying off for sure,” Dannhauser said. 

Head coach Melanie Zampardo said Ferris State is always a good team, but the Chargers came closer to winning than in previous years and every match was close. 

“Sometimes you just have to get the losses out of the way,” Zampardo said. “And now, the ice is broken. Now it’s okay; we can relax. We don’t have to win every single match.”

Sophomore Julia Zlateva beat the Bulldogs at No. 4 singles, playing a spot higher than she usually does, according to Zampardo. Zlateva and senior Isabella Spinazze won 7-6 at No. 3 doubles. 

“We knew that we had to step into the matches this weekend with a little bit extra energy, a little bit extra effort,” Zampardo said. “And I felt that we could feel that, truly, the energy on Saturday was some of the best energy we’ve had. We had good vibes the entire match. We were loud. We were cheering. We were supporting each other.”

The Chargers switched up the doubles pairings for their matches against the Panthers, according to Zampardo. Usually, Dannhauser plays with senior Megan Hackman, but on Sunday Dannhauser and sophomore Briana Rees won 7-6 at No. 1 doubles and Hackman and freshman Esther Sura won 6-1 at No. 2 doubles. 

“We just try to bring our best every day,” Zampardo said. “And we’re trying different things, and it’s not always gonna work, and that’s okay. They’re embracing it well. They’re taking the changes like champs and doing their best.”

Spinazze and Zlateva were down 5-1 in their No. 3 doubles match against the Panthers, but they wound up losing 7-6 in a tiebreaker, according to Sura. 

“It was just crazy to see the comeback, and again, another proud moment to show how much we’re fighting for all these matches,” Sura said. 

The Chargers beat the Panthers at No. 1 and No. 5 singles. Other than the win at No. 1 by Dannhauser, Sura, who played at No. 5 singles, won 7-5, 6-2. 

“I was just super proud of how we fought in every single match, and for every single point,” Sura said. “Even though we did come up short, and 5-2 against Ferris looks like a convincing win, but every single match was close, and we had so many matches go three sets, or 7-5, or 7-6, and even with Davenport, we were right there the whole time.” 

The Chargers will play at Wayne State University on Feb. 28.