OWENSBORO, Ky. – The top-seeded and regionally ranked Hillsdale program triumphed in a thrilling conclusion to the end of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Championship on Saturday.
 
The Chargers (14-2) defeated No. 3 seed Tiffin (9-7) in a 4-3 final that went down to the very last singles match on the court.
 
After Friday’s semifinals were conducted outdoors at Centre Courts, the remainder of the tournament was moved indoors to protect against the chance of inclement weather in the area.
 
The early momentum was in Hillsdale’s favor as the Chargers scored doubles wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to earn the first point of the championship match. The combos of Tyler Conrad and Sean Barstow won 6-4 and Daniel Gilbert with Brian Hackman prevailed 6-3.
 
Tiffin’s tandem of Joe Gilman and Michael Gurtner earned a doubles win for the Dragons at No. 2 by a 6-2 count.
 
Daniel Gilbert delivered the heroics for Tiffin with a three-set victory at No. 5 singles to break a 3-3 tie. Gilbert bounced back after dropping the first set, 1-6, before taking the next two 6-4 and 7-6.
 
Tiffin had the upper hand in the No. 1 battle between Gurtner and Tyler Conrad. Conference freshman of the year Brennan Cimpeanu came through with a huge win at No. 2 singles vs. first team all-conference performer Nair Adi – that was the first match to officially walk off the courts.
 
Brian Hackman and Hugo Chatras also traded points for their respective teams at No. 3 and No. 4 singles and Cyrille Colomb recorded a straight set victory in favor of the Dragons at No. 6 singles.
 
Hillsdale’s Great Midwest Coach of the Year Keith Turner will learn where his program will be headed in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Tuesday, May 4, at 8 p.m. ET on NCAA.com. This is the Chargers' second conference tournament title after also winning in 2018, their first opportunity as a league member institution.