North Central secured a 4-1 victory over Wheaton on Saturday afternoon to win the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Women’s Tennis Championship. The match was held at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois.
The win marks North Central’s fifth straight CCIW tournament title, continuing a streak that began in Fall 2021.
NCC took an early lead by winning the doubles point. Abigail Penados and Natalie Bassett dominated at No. 1 doubles with a 6-0 win, while Liveta Ezerkis and Meghan McSweeney secured a 6-3 victory at No. 3 doubles.
In singles action, Penados earned a straight-sets win at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-4. Kensington Payne followed with a hard-fought three-set victory at No. 3, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Ezerkis then clinched the match with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles, giving the Cardinals the overall 4-1 win.
Wheaton’s Janet Kondo picked up a straight-sets victory at No. 6 singles, 7-6, 6-2. The other singles matches were still in progress and had reached third sets when Ezerkis secured the deciding point for North Central.
Before the match, Kate Herlihy of North Central was honored with the CCIW’s Elite 26 Award. Modeled after the NCAA’s Elite 90 program, the award recognizes the student-athlete with the highest academic and athletic achievement across each of the CCIW’s 26 sponsored sports.
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