Charger men’s tennis won two away meets over the weekend, moving them to 8-5 on the overall season and 2-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference play.
The Chargers won 6-1 against Kentucky Wesleyan College March 22, snatching the doubles point and winning five of six matches in singles play.
In doubles play, the Chargers won all three matches, with freshmen Sam Plys and Eddie Bergelin at No. 2 doubles and freshmen Ryan Papazov and Rintaro Goda at No. 3 doubles both securing a 6-0 victory.
Plys said his and Bergelin’s doubles strategy is to be very aggressive on the court.
“We prefer to strike first using our communication and speed when constructing points,” Plys said. “Sometimes it is a bit of a rollercoaster but the ride is always fun.”
In singles play, sophomore Ellis Klanduch pushed his opponent to a second-set tiebreak at No. 1 singles, winning the tiebreak 8-6 to pull off a 6-1, 7-6, win in the overall match. At No. 6 singles, Plys did not drop a game to win the match 6-0, 6-0.
The Chargers won 4-0 against Thomas More University March 23, winning all three doubles matches to secure the doubles point, and winning the first three singles matches to clinch the win.
In doubles play, sophomore duo Henry Hammond and Klanduch won 6-3 at No. 1 doubles, Plys and Bergelin won 7-5 at No. 2 doubles, and Papazov and Goda won 6-4 at No. 3 doubles.
Head coach Keith Turner said the Chargers are doing a good job of taking care of business in the doubles play, but there is still room for improvement.
“We still need to continue to improve if we’re going to get the doubles point against the stronger opponents coming up,” Turner said.
Plys said he and Bergelin have been working on their doubles at practice by playing against different doubles pairs and doing drills to sharpen their tools at the net. He also said he trusts his training and is optimistic that he and Bergelin will have success in future matches.
“So far I would say the hard work has been paying off, and I believe further down the road we will continue to get better and come out of more matches with the win,” Plys said.
In singles play, Klanduch won 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1 singles, Papazov won 6-0, 6-4, at No. 2 singles, and freshman Alexandro Cordero Lopez won 6-2, 6-2, at No. 3 singles to close out the overall match with a win for Hillsdale. The last three matches went unfinished for the sake of time.
Cordero Lopez said the team’s performance over the weekend reflects the team’s improvement from the beginning of the season.
“At the start of the season we were all very nervous, especially with such an inexperienced team,” Cordero Lopez said. “This forced us to step up and be more mature in practice and matches if we want to win, and this has been reflected in our performance in the latest matches.”
The Chargers are scheduled to compete against Walsh University at home March 30. Turner said the match is important because it will give the team a better idea of where they stand in the conference.
“Walsh is going to be a big test for us,” Turner said. “It’s the best team we’ve played in a number of weeks and I’ll have a better idea of where we are as a team after this match.”
