Kicking off the homecoming weekend, Hillsdale College’s tennis team won their Saturday match against Lake Superior State University.
After a well deserved off weekend, the Chargers came back strong, took control of the matches, and pulled an 8-1 win over the Lakers.
Hillsdale won three doubles matches, and took home victories in number 2-6 singles.
“We came out that day as the stronger team,” head coach Nikki Walbright said. “The girls were confident and ready to play. It was a fun match to watch.”
Walbright said that while the girls enjoyed having the homecoming crowd, they maintained their focus on their games and played well.
“It was definitely nice to have a lot of fans there, but the girls are always ready to play their best so I think it would have been the same result regardless,” Walbright said.
Overall, the team said they were pleased with Saturday’s performance.
“I think just the win in general, everyone played really well and came out with their best tennis,” Walbright said.
On Sunday the team returned to the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center to face Michigan Tech University.
After a few tiebreaking matches, the Chargers fell to the Huskies 7-2. One of the key matches of the day was a three-setter in which junior Sydney Delp fell after a hard-fought third set.
“They’re a good team but the score does not reflect how close each match was,” Delp said.
Walbright said she was pleased with the team’s effort on the court despite the disappointing loss.
“[Coach Walbright] thought that we played hard and that we played well, but she was disappointed that we lost,” junior Rachel Blaauw said.
As the women’s season is coming to an end the team is focusing more on their goal of qualifying for GLIACS.
This coming weekend they will host Northwood University and Saginaw Valley State University. Sunday’s match against Saginaw Valley will be critical to the team’s qualification.
“I think our goal has always been clear and we are looking towards it.” Walbright said.
