Just 12 months ago, Brennan Cimpeanu was a freshman with no collegiate experience playing in his first match.
Now, he's the champion of the Midwest.
The Hillsdale College sophomore made history this weekend with an unprecedented run for a Hillsdale College men's tennis player through the top singles bracket at the annual ITA Midwest Regional hosted by Grand Valley State, becoming the first Charger ever to capture a regional title in the A bracket and standing alone as the top men's tennis player in the Midwest at the NCAA Division II level.
Cimpeanu entered the tournament as the fourth seed and won six straight matches against the best competition the Midwest Region had to offer, deftly avoiding the upsets that claimed several other seeded players and matching the historical previous best run by a Charger in the A bracket with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Sebastian Arce of Grand Valley St. in the Round of 16 to make the quarterfinals.
The sophomore from Troy, Michigan then took a step into uncharted territory, rallying from a tiebreak loss in the first set of his quarterfinal match against Sylvain Garin-Michaud of Drury to take the next two, 7-6 (0) and 10-1 to become the first-ever semifinalist in the ITA Midwest Regional in program history.
With eyes on the prize, Cimpeanu didn't let up. Up against Illinois-Springfield No. 1 singles player and senior Tommy Martinez in the semis, Cimpeanu once again overcame a 4-6 loss in the first set and pulled out a tiebreak victory in set two, 7-6 (1), and a razor-thin 11-9 victory in the deciding third set to clinch a spot in the finals.
Cimpeanu was the underdog to third-seeded Nikolaj Talimaa in the championship match, but refused to be denied the crown, overpowering the junior from Indianapolis 6-4 in the first set and never looking back on the way to securing the Midwest Regional title.
In the same event that history was being made for Hillsdale College in singles, Cimpeanu also teamed with sophomore Sean Barstow in a historic run in the A doubles bracket of the ITA Midwest Regional as well.
The pair, seeded eighth entering the event, won four straight matches, including a stunning upset of the top seeded team of Tom Zeuch and Zac Faveri of Indianapolis in a 9-8 (5) thriller in the quarterfinal, and an 8-5 win over Spencer Blandford and Preston Cameron of Southern Indiana in the semifinals, to become the first Charger team in the history of the ITA Midwest Regional to reach the A doubles final.
While the pair came up just short of a second crown on the weekend in a hard-fought 7-6 (1), 6-4 loss to Juan-Louis van Antwerpen and Jonathan Bulmer of Davenport in the championship match, Cimpeanu and Barstow served notice that they'll be one of the top doubles teams in the region all season long.
Like Cimpeanu, Barstow has been a key part of the Charger lineup since joining the team as a freshman 12 months ago, and showed his continued development as a player this weekend.
The third member of that 2024 class, Daniel Gilbert, also had a strong showing at the ITAs. In the B singles, draw the sophomore from Warsaw, Indiana advanced to the Round of 16, beating Bodin Aleksic of Maryville 6-3, 6-2 and Andrew Codita of Findlay 6-1, 6-1. It took the top seed in the bracket, Dominik Koenig of Indianapolis, to end Gilbert's run.
In the B doubles bracket, Gilbert also teamed with junior Tyler Conrad to reach the consolation finals, beating teams from Lake Superior State, 9-8 (4), Ashland, 8-1, and McKendree 8-4, giving the Chargers two more players who were still in action on Sunday.
Two other Chargers won matches this weekend. Senior Brian Hackman ground out a victory in the A singles consolation bracket, beating Luis Hernandez Ceballos of Lewis 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in a thrilling match, and freshman Jonathan Degtyaryov earned the first singles victory of his Hillsdale career, beating Maharsh Patel of Northwood 6-2, 6-4 in the B singles consolation bracket as well.
The ITA Midwest Regional was originally scheduled to be the end of the fall campaign for Charger men's tennis, but thanks to his victory, the season will continue for Cimpeanu. His title grants him one of eight automatic qualifying berths in the ITA Cup, held from Oct. 14-17 in Rome, Georgia. The exclusive and prestigious event has a field of 16 of the top DII men's tennis players from across the country and will give the sophomore invaluable experience against the toughest competition DII has to offer. There's still a chance that Barstow could join him as a participant in doubles, as regional runner-ups are among those considered for eight at-large spots in the field as well.
Cimpeanu is the first Charger and the first player from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference to ever earn a berth in the ITA Cup. The winner of the ITA Cup is awarded a wild card spot in the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships scheduled for November, which contains 64 of the best college tennis players from across all divisions and is televised on ESPNU.
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