On a snowy Sunday, the Hillsdale College Chargers took on the Ferris State University Bulldogs in a thrilling 7-0 victory. The win puts the Chargers off to a strong start to the season.
In doubles, Hillsdale dropped the first match as Ferris St. beat junior Katie Bell and senior Corinne Prost 6-1, but was able to level the scoring with sophomore Hannah Cimpeanu and freshman Sarah Hackman’s 6-1 win at no. 2 doubles. The lone doubles point was then up to the no. 3 match, and every player from both sides crowded around the middle court to cheer on their side. The set was close, and the Chargers, led by Kamryn Matthews and Madeline Bissett, ultimately beat out the Bulldogs 7-5 to take the doubles point.
“I was really proud of the third doubles team for really sticking it out and winning it, because that was a really important match,” coach Nikki Walbright said. “If we were to go down in doubles, it’s kind of a hard way to go into singles.”
In singles, Cimpeanu got off the court early at the no. 1 spot. She took the first set of one singles, then dropped two after going up 3-0 in the second. She broke right back, and by the next changeover was up 5-2. With a few deep backhands and a well-placed lob, she broke again for the match 6-2, 6-2.
“Hannah [Cimpeanu] had a really dominant performance at no. 1,” Walbright said. “She was near-flawless.”
In similar fashion, senior Halle Hyman took no. 4 singles in straight sets 6-2, 7-5, edging out her opponent in the key moments of the second set.
“Although we won all the courts, they were all intense matches,” Walbright said. “Even Hyman’s to close out was a tough match and she did a good job to finish it.”
But the Bulldogs put the pressure on the Chargers at the 2 and 3 spots. After a dominant 6-2 opening set, Hackman dropped the second set 1-6. The third was a battle at the baseline. Neither player gave in, so each point consisted of a long rally with few unforced errors. Fighting to reach 5-4, Hackman broke serve to take the match 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
“As a freshman, with not very much match experience in college, it’s a really good one for her to see, and she closed out that third set really well,” Walbright said.
As Hackman walked off the court, Bell was still in the heat of a close match at no. 3 singles. She dropped the first set 1-6, but fought back in the second set to force a tiebreak.
“I was honestly just taking it point by point and trying not to get ahead of myself even though I was in the lead for the most part,” Bell said of the tiebreak. “I just tried to keep calm and keep the pressure on her with deep shots.”
Tied at 4-4, the pressure mounted for Bell, who played with emotion the whole match. She won the mini-break to extend her lead to 6-4, then lost the next point, crouching down in the middle of the court. At 6-5, with the chance of losing her momentum, Bell hit a powerful forehand winner to seal the second set and level the match, yelling “Let’s go!”
“Weak! So weak!” she cried after hitting a short return and allowing an easy winner from her opponent to take the third game of the final set, 2-3.
“Keeping positive during the 3rd was tough but I just tried to breathe and told myself to keep getting the ball back even if it meant slicing or loopy balls,” Bell said.
But she bounced back after the changeover, breaking twice to win the deciding set 6-3.
“There was really never a point in the match where I thought she was going to lose,” Walbright said. “That’s just the type of player she is. It was a great moral victory for her.”
With 5 of the points secured for Hillsdale, the rest of the match went by smoothly. Matthews breezed through 6-1, 6-0 at no. 5 singles, and with the match clinched, Ferris wanted to leave because of the snow after Bissett’s first set.
“In the beginning of the season, it’s tough to replicate that kind of pressure without practice,” Walbright said of the dramatic matches on the middle courts. “It’s good for us to overcome that now.”
The Chargers will be away at Lewis University on Saturday.
