The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team dominated on Saturday. After a 14-year hiatus, Hillsdale’s new varsity men’s team defeated visiting Daeman College 9-0. With the win, the Chargers improved to 1-1 on the season.
The program returned to varsity status this spring and on Saturday afternoon played its first home match since 2002.
The Chargers won every match in straight sets, and none of the sets reached 6-4.
Leading the Chargers was freshman Justin Hyman at No. 1 singles. Hyman won with a stellar 6-1, 6-0 victory. Sophomore Dugan Delp drilled home a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles. Gianpiero Placidi was a 6-3, 6-2 winner at No. 3 singles, while John Ciraci netted a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles. Zach Rabitoy clinched his match with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles, and Jerry Hewitt finished the sweep with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles. The Chargers also cruised to three wins in doubles.
“It was fantastic, and we were glad to get back out there for the first time in 14 years,” Chargers head coach Keith Turner said.
Turner, a former coach at nearby Albion College, said he is excited to see how the rest of the year would pan out. Turner said that he was proud of his boys as he has seen steady improvement in their game.
The players, too, were very happy with their performances.
“I was very happy with how my team and I played and glad that we were able to sweep Daeman College,” Hyman said.
Delp agreed with Hyman. “We had a great team effort and we were able to accomplish what was needed today,” Delp said.
Both Hyman and Delp agreed that the ultimate goal for Hillsdale this season is to make it to the GLIAC playoffs. They both believe that this goal will require serious effort, but they said that they are up for the challenge.
“It’s going to be tough as we don’t know many of the teams we are playing so we are going to have to come into every match blind. Still, we are ready to give it our all,” Delp said.
A large number of students and parents came throughout the day to cheer on the Chargers. The next home match will be played on Feb. 26 at 4:30 p.m. against Spring Arbor University. The team hopes for continued support as they continue their season.
