Box Score The Hillsdale College men's tennis team's first road match of the spring season was a thrilling one, as the Chargers battled host Goshen to a third-set tiebreak in the final match before pulling out a 4-3 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

With the match tied at 3-3 and perched on a razor's edge, victory came down to the outcome of the No. 6 singles match. Freshman Rintaro Goda pushed the third and deciding set to a tiebreak and edged his opponent, Mario Gomez, by the slimmest of margins, 8-6, to take the match 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 and give Hillsdale the win in a clutch performance.

Hillsdale fell behind early, losing the doubles point despite a 6-2 victory form sophomore Ellis Klanduch and freshman Ryan Papazov at No. 2 doubles. Klanduch got the Chargers on the board at No. 1 singles with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over Goshen's Filippo Gallo, but the Maple Leafs won matches at No. 2 and No. 3 singles to move one point away from clinching the match.

With any mistake potentially proving fatal to Hillsdale's chances of victory, the bottom of the Chargers' lineup, all freshmen, came through when it counted. Eddie Bergelin won 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4 singles and Sam Plys took a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles, both hard-fought three setters, to tie up the match. And with everything on the line, Goda got Hillsdale across the finish line with his victory in a marathon match.

The Chargers improve to 2-4 overall with the victory and continue their road trip on Sunday, heading further south to take on a regional opponent in host Illinois-Springfield at noon. 

Photo by Vincent Hill