The Hillsdale College women's tennis team put up a tough fight on the road but came up short in a narrow 4-3 loss to Davenport on Sunday.

The Chargers took an early lead thanks to more strong doubles play from the Chargers' lineup. Hillsdale's regionally-ranked doubles pairing of Megan Hackman and Melanie Zampardo recorded their second straight win of the spring at No. 1 doubles, rolling to an easy 6-1 victory, while Hillsdale's No. 3 doubles pairing of Helana Formentin and Liby McGivern also dispatched their Davenport opponents in emphatic fashion with a 6-1 victory to give Hillsdale the doubles point.

In singles play, freshman Ane Dannhauser gutted out a hard-fought victory at No. 2 singles for the Chargers over Davenports Willemien Coetzee, winning a first-set tiebreak 7-4 and bouncing back from a 6-4 loss in the second set to take the match with a marathon 7-5 third set victory. Hackman also completed an undefeated day for Hillsdale with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Davenport's Louise Hosking.

The final singles victory Hillsdale needed to take the match proved elusive, however. Zampardo came the closest at No. 1 singles for the Chargers, nearly forcing a third set before falling in a 7-5 tiebreak in the second set to Davenport's Amy Bloch.

Hillsdale (0-2) has been competitive in both its losses so far and will look to get on track next weekend with a home match against Michigan Tech on Saturday, Feb. 10 in the Biermann Center.

Photo by Emma Purdy