Sophomore Alex Cordero kneels down to hit ball against Tiffin University.
Courtesy | Kenneth Gaudet
The Hillsdale College men’s tennis team picked up two conference wins over the weekend, defeating Ashland University April 3 and Cedarville University April 4 on the road, moving to 2-3 in conference play and 7-8 overall.
Against Ashland, Hillsdale won all three doubles matches, starting off with an early 1-0 lead. Juniors Henry Hammond and Ellis Klanduch won 7-6 on court No. 1.
“Ellis and I have played together for about two years now, so with that experience comes a better partnership,” Hammond said. “This weekend came down to both of us stepping up on the points that really mattered. ”
Sophomores Sam Plys and Ryan Papazov won 6-1 on court No. 2, and freshman Jackson Clements and sophomore Alex Cordero Lopez won 7-6 on court No. 3.
“Alex and I are both consistent baseliners,” Clements said. “We always know how to fire each other up, which helps a lot with our chemistry on court.”
In singles play, Plys lost at No. 1 singles, which evened the score at 1-1. But, the Chargers went on to win the next three singles matches, jumping to a 4-1 lead that clinched the overall win.
Papazov and Cordero Lopez both won their singles matches in two sets, on courts No. 2 and 4, respectively. Klanduch returned to the lineup after an injury sidelined him last week, and he won 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, on court No. 3.
Clements lost on court No. 5, and sophomore Rintaro Goda lost on court No. 6, but the Chargers had already secured the win, defeating Ashland 4-3.
The Chargers then travelled two hours south to Cedarville University to face the Yellow Jackets, where they won 6-1.
“We had our full team playing and we put on a really good performance, so that gave us confidence,” Clements said.
Hillsdale started off the match by claiming the doubles point, winning on doubles courts No. 1 and 3.
In singles, Hillsdale won five of six matches. Cedarville’s only point came on court No. 6.
On singles court No. 4, Hammond dominated with a 6-0, 6-0 win.
“I was just relaxed and focused on each point, one at a time,” Hammond said. “It came down to never letting go of the focus I had from point one all the way to the very last point. I was happy that I maintained that concentration, because sometimes that is the difference between a win and a loss.”
The Chargers will continue conference play as they host Kentucky Wesleyan University April 19 and Thomas More University April 20 at The Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center.
“It was great to get a couple of wins after enduring a tough schedule,” head coach Keith Turner said. “Hopefully we can keep the winning streak going this coming weekend.”
