It's been a rough three weeks for the Hillsdale College men's tennis team, as injuries have mounted right as the Chargers' loaded non-conference schedule reached its most difficult point.
Sunday's home match against Northwood, however, showed the silver lining, as Hillsdale is starting to get healthier, and showed it in a quality 4-3 win over the Timberwolves.
The return of No. 1 singles player Brennan Cimpeanu, a nationally ranked singles and doubles player, from injury made a huge difference in the outcome of Sunday's match. In his first singles action since getting hurt on Feb. 6, Cimpeanu beat Leon Grundstrom of Northwood 6-2, 6-3 to help secure the match, after pairing with teammate Daniel Gilbert to win 6-3 at No. 2 doubles and help the Chargers secure the doubles point as well.
The top half of Hillsdale's lineup, not just Cimpeanu, also had a strong day for the Chargers. Junior Tyler Conrad and sophomore Sean Barstow paired up to earn a 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles for Hillsdale, securing the doubles point, and both also won their singles matches, with Conrad taking a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles and Barstow earning a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 victory at No. 3 singles to provide the winning margin in the match.
While Gilbert didn't pick up a singles win to join his teammates, he came close in a well-played and hard-fought match at No. 4 singles, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, to Max Wild of Northwood in a solid performance as well.
With Cimpeanu back healthy and joining Conrad, Barstow, and Gilbert, much of the core that propelled Hillsdale to a G-MAC title and NCAA DII tournament bid last season is now on the court for the Chargers. While Hillsdale lacks the depth it had last season that made them the favorite to win the league title in 2021, more strong play and future good health from that quartet would make the Chargers dangerous in the G-MAC once again despite its 3-5 record to date in the spring 2022 season.
Hillsdale will look to build some momentum before its Spring Break trip to Florida to play some of the top teams in the country, with a home match next Saturday against Lake Superior State at 1 p.m. up next.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan