Box Score The Hillsdale College men's tennis team enters the 2024-25 season with not just one of the youngest teams in the program's history, but in the entirety of the NCAA DII level.

With no juniors and seniors and just two sophomores on its seven-man roster, the Chargers will be at a collegiate playing experience deficit to every opponent they face this season.

But despite that obstacle, the Chargers proved in their season-opening home invitational this weekend that they should not be taken lightly, as several of Hillsdale's players performed beyond their years to pick up victories against a tough field that included G-MAC title contenders Findlay and Walsh, as well as NAIA Lawrence Tech.

Leading the way for the Chargers was one of the program's two returners, sophomore Ellis Klanduch, who rallied from an opening round loss in the top singles flight to win the consolation bracket with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Emilio Gonzalez of Lawrence Tech, and a 6-1, 6-3 win over Kian Balali of Walsh in the final match.

Two of Hillsdale's five freshmen also played well in the B singles bracket, with Illinois native Sam Plys and Spaniard Alex Cordero Lopez each bouncing back from a first match loss to make consolation bracket runs as well.

Plys downed Carlos Patricio Merlo of Lawrence Tech 7-5, 6-2 and Cordero Lopez beat Takuya King of Lawrence Tech 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 to set up a consolation bracket final match between the two teammates, with Plys winning 6-1, 6-4 over Cordero Lopez to claim the crown.

Both players also picked up a doubles win on the weekend, with Plys teaming with freshman Ryan Papazov for a 6-2 win over a team from Walsh in the A doubles consolation bracket, while Cordero Lopez joined fellow freshman Eddie Bergelin in picking up a 6-4 win over a team from Findlay in their opening round match in the B doubles bracket.

Bergelin put together a solid run for the Chargers as well in the C singles bracket, opening with a hard fought 5-7, 6-1, 10-8 win over Maxwell Hosey of Findlay in his first match, and then taking down Walsh's Ben Hoffman 7-6 (2), 6-1 to reach the semifinal round before bowing out. 

Hillsdale now has two weeks to prepare for the ITA Midwest Regional, hosted by Davenport in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Sept. 28-30. The annual event gathers all the top players in the Midwest Region at the NCAA DII level for singles and doubles competition, with the winners in singles and doubles advancing to the ITA Cup, a national level event, in October. The event will be a great measuring stick for a young Chargers squad early in the season.

Photo by Kenneth Gaudet