The Hillsdale College men's tennis team put a bit of a scare into a tough opponent on the road on Saturday, but ultimately couldn't upset three-time defending G-MAC champion Tiffin in a 4-2 loss.

The doubles point was a tight affair, as Hillsdale's top pairing of Henry Hammond and Ellis Klanduch won a 7-3 tiebreak to take a tight match at No. 1 doubles, but the Chargers couldn't finish off a close match at No. 3 doubles to steal the point. 

That 1-0 lead proved critical as Hillsdale was able to pick up hard-fought singles wins from No. 1 singles player Ryan Papzov, who rallied from a 7-4 defeat in a first-set tiebreak to win the next two sets 7-5, 6-4 over Tiffin's Martin Dreisner, and at No. 3 singles fron Sam Plys, who took a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Jose Portillo. Tiffin's doubles point, however, allowed them to clinch the match with wins at No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 singles. However, if that point had gone Hillsdale's way, the match would have come down to the unfinished match at No. 4 singles, where Hammond was up 4-1 in the second set after a 7-5 loss in the first set, and capable of potentially pulling out the victory.

Hillsdale is now 9-7 overall, 3-2 in the G-MAC, but after close matches on the road against the top two teams in the conference, Findlay and Tiffin, the Chargers now have confidence they can go toe-to-toe with the best in the league, an exciting development with the G-MAC Tournament looming at the end of the regular season. The Chargers have another big match on Saturday at home against Northwood, currently in the title mix as well, up next, as Hillsdale looks to stay in the top four and get an advantageous draw for the tourney.

Photo by Vincent Hill