The Hillsdale tennis team came in fifth place at the GLIAC tournament at the end of a dramatic, turnaround season. They beat the the fourth seed, Ashland, on Sunday and were originally only seeded sixth.
“This weekend was the highlight of the entire season and we ended on such a great note,” said coach Nicole Walbright. “The entire team came together to get big wins over tough competition and as a coach I could not have asked for anything more.”
Team captain, senior Brittany Parks, agreed.
“This was something we’ve been working to all season and we came together really well for an amazing weekend,” Parks said.
In addition, coach Nikki Walbright was named GLIAC coach of the year, a tremendous honor for a second-year coach.
“She was shocked, but I don’t think anyone else in the room was surprised one bit,” said freshman Sydney Delp. “She took our team from second-to-last to fifth place in one year. Honestly, other players wished that they had our coach and it’s pretty scary what she’ll be able to do in three, four years.”
Parks received first team All-GLIAC conference honors, while sophomore Morgan Delp made second team with an undefeated 6-0 record, and Sydney Delp made honorable mention.
“She played so amazingly,” said Parks of Morgan Delp’s undefeated weekend. “She was so tough, mentally, and just grinding out the matches. It was great.”
An undefeated weekend is particularly impressive at a conference tournament like GLIAC, Sydney Delp added.
“She proved to be the best no. 2 singles player in the whole conference.”
On Friday, the team lost 5-2 to Grand Valley State, who ended up seeded second and lost by one match to the regular-season and tournament winners, Northwood.
Park’s singles match was incomplete, because Hillsdale already lost the team match before her third set was complete.
On Saturday, the Chargers beat Saginaw Valley 5-4, almost as close as their regular season matchup on Sept. 8. Parks and Morgan Delp won doubles. Sydney Delp, Lindsay Peirce, Morgan Linden, and Morgan Delp all won singles. Both the doubles match and Sydney Delp’s singles victory were originally losses in the regular season.
On Sunday, Hillsdale defeated Ashland 5-3, after losing to them 5-4 in the regular season. Morgan Delp and Parks “sought revenge” on a regular-season doubles loss and came back to win 8-6 in a spectacular finish for the doubles pair in their last GLIAC match together.
Morgan Delp and Morgan Linden also won singles matches they had lost in the regular season. The other wins came from Sydney Delp and the doubles team of Peirce and Sydney Delp. Parks was ahead in the third set of her singles match when, again, the match was called.
“It helps to keep things a little bit shorter in a tournament of this size,” said Parks. “It would have been nice to finish, but I got pulled off because we won, so that isn’t too annoying.”
Despite the fact that two of her matches were called early, team members said that Park’s performance was stellar. Both times, she was ahead of her opponents and in control of the court.
“We’re so thankful for all she’s done for the program and the team as our captain, fellow player, and friend,” said Sydney Delp. “We’ll miss her, but she left a great legacy that we’re going to carry on.”
Although it’s sad to see the GLIAC season come to an end, the team is even more excited for next year and prepared to work hard in the off-season.
“I think everyone knew we were a lot better than last year, but we went above and beyond even that. We surpassed our own goals, even,” said Parks. “We have an amazing coach and an amazing team and I wouldn’t be surprised if next year we’re aiming to win the conference. You have to keep moving forward.”
