At their first home match of the spring season on Saturday, Hillsdale overpowered the competition with an 8-1 win over Huntington College.
“We’ve been practicing hard and I think the girls were eager for competition. All courts played hard and showed a lot of heart in their wins,” coach Nicole Walbright said.
Sophomore Jada Bissett and junior Rachel Blaauw demonstrated commanding wins in their matches. Bissett shut out her opponent, winning 6-0, 6-0, while Blaauw cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Despite the lopsided score, some matches showed stiff competition between the teams. Losing her first set 5-7, Junior Lindsay Pierce came back 6-3 and 10-6 for the win. Additionally, junior Sydney Delp won a close two-set match 7-5, 6-3 at no. 2 singles. At no. 3 singles, senior Morgan Delp won a hard-fought three-set match 5-7, 6-2, 10-4.
“Lindsay and I played some great doubles. We were sharp and focused and took care of business,” junior Sydney Delp. “I was not too happy with how I played in my singles match, but a win is a win even when it is ugly.”
Walbright said that everyone on the team earned a win at some point over the weekend. After putting a heavy emphasis on doubles play during practice the past couple of weeks, the Chargers finished the day with five of six singles matches won and wins in all three of the doubles matches.
“It is nice to see positive results when the team has been working so hard,” Walbright said.
This weekend’s success in doubles play allows the team to switch from focusing on doubles to singles.
During the spring, the team doesn’t compete in conference matches, making the focus between seasons from qualifying for GLIACs to working on specifics in order to improve their game.
“The spring season puts a lot less pressure on your back… and I really think that allows us to play well,” Bissett said. “Our coach is always saying, ‘Let’s have fun and put those things that we practice into play,’ and I think we definitely did that this weekend.”
The team is looking forward to a restful Easter weekend as they begin to gear up for the quickly approaching end of the spring season. The Chargers’ final home match of the season takes place on April 11 against Concordia University.
