Box Score The Hillsdale College women's tennis team put up a good fight in its spring opener on Saturday, but fell to visiting Michigan Tech 4-3 by a razor-thin margin.

The Chargers won three of the six singles matches and pushed two more to third set tiebreaks, but the fourth point to clinch the match and claim victory proved elusive for Hillsdale.

Sophomore Ane Dannhauser, the 2023-24 G-MAC Freshman of the Year, picked up where she left off on Saturday as the only Charger to win both her matches. Dannhauser rolled past Michigan Tech's Alexandra Nikonenko 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1 singles, and teamed with senior Courtney Rittel for a strong 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles as well.

Senior Libby McGivern also notched an impressive 6-3, 6-4 win over Michigan Tech's Caoimhe McDonnell at No. 2 singles, and freshman Julia Zlateva dominated her No. 5 singles match for the Chargers, rolling to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Tech's Efthymia Vasiliki Konstantatou.

At No. 3 and 4 singles, freshman Brianna Rees and Rittel both fought hard for the Chargers, forcing a third set tiebreak in each match, but came up just shy of winning in tight 7-5 tiebreak finishes.

Hillsdale (0-1) will look to rebound next Saturday as the Chargers welcome in Lake Superior State University for a 3 p.m. match. It's one of two home matches for the Chargers next weekend as Hillsdale makes full use of its indoor courts at the Biermann Athletic Center during February.

Photo by Kenneth Gaudet