The Hillsdale College men's tennis team saw its five-match win streak come to an end with a narrow 4-3 loss to visiting Ferris State on Sunday.
The Chargers lost by the slimmest of margins to the Bulldogs, one of the traditional powers in the GLIAC. Multiple close matches that included tiebreaks and 7-5 sets that could have gone the other way would have gotten Hillsdale the point it needed, but Ferris State managed to pull every one out to secure a hard-fought victory.
Hillsdale got a victory in the doubles portion from the No. 2 doubles team, of freshman Brennan Cimpeanu and senior Gabe Katz, who beat their opponents from Ferris 6-1, but the Chargers lost the other two doubles matches to concede the point an an early edge to the Bulldogs.
The Chargers got big victories down their lineup in singles play, as freshman Daniel Gilbert won 6-2, 6-1 over Josh McDermott of Ferris at No. 5 singles, and Gabe Katz earned a 6-4, 6-1 win over Ayush Deswal of Ferris at No. 6 singles.
Cimpeanu pulled out a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jan Koupli at No. 2 singles as well for the Chargers, but the fourth win the Chargers needed to clinch the match victory proved elusive against a strong Ferris State lineup.
While the loss knocks Hillsdale from the ranks of the unbeaten, a strong showing against a team likely to contend for the GLIAC title isn't a cause for concern for the Chargers. Hillsdale (5-1) will look to get back on track this Sunday with a match against Southern Indiana at home at 10:30 a.m.
Photo by Summer Fields