For the seventh straight season, the Hillsdale College women's tennis team is in the final four of the G-MAC Tournament.
The third-seeded Chargers dispatched sixth-seeded Thomas More in a G-MAC quarterfinal matchup on Thursday morning at Centre Court in Owensboro, Kentucky sweeping their way to a 4-0 victory.
The win sets Hillsdale up with a rematch with second-seeded Tiffin in the semifinal round at 10 a.m. on Friday, with a berth in the G-MAC final on the line. Tiffin earned the bye as a top-two seed and did not have to play in the quarterfinal round today.
Hillsdale earned the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead over the Saints with an excellent performance from seniors
Libby McGivern and
Courtney Rittel at No. 2 doubles. The veteran duo ripped through their Thomas More opponents in a 6-0 sweep, and the Chargers clinched the point with a win at No. 3 doubles by
Julia Zlateva and
Isabella Spinazze. Hillsdale also was ahead 4-3 at No. 1 doubles when the point was decided.
In singles play, sophomore
Ane Dannhauser led the way with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win over Thomas More's Alexis Covington at No. 1 singles. With all six courts in action at the same time, Hillsdale showed its depth with big wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to clinch the match and allow the Chargers to advance. Zlateva had little trouble at No. 5 singles, dispatching Thomas More's Nicki Bauer 6-2, 6-0, while junior
Megan Hackman also took a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 6 singles to put the match away.
The victory gives the Chargers an opportunity to potentially pull a season-defining upset. Hillsdale (14-8) was ranked eighth in the Midwest Region in the most recent NCAA Regional Poll, one spot out of making the NCAA Tournament, but a win over Tiffin, ranked fifth in the same poll, could be just the thing to put the Chargers on the right side of the bubble when the field is announced next week. It won't be easy, as Tiffin beat Hillsdale 4-0 in the regular season, but a closer look at that match reveals some hope for the Chargers, who lost the doubles point 2-1 and had close matches at No. 1 and No. 3 singles. On a day where things are breaking Hillsdale's way and the Chargers are playing their best, it's conceivable all three of those results could flip, creating a match that would come down to the wire.Â
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