BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – North Central earned a 4-1 victory over Wheaton Saturday afternoon to claim the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Women’s Tennis Championship at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill.
The decision marked NCC’s fifth straight CCIW tournament win since Fall 2021.
NCC won the doubles point to snag an early lead in the match on the strength of wins from Abigail Penados and Natalie Bassett at #1 (6-0) and Liveta Ezerkis and Meghan McSweeney at #3 (6-3).
In singles play, Penados won 6-2, 6-4 in straight sets at #1, followed by three-set triumphs from Kensington Payne at #3 (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) and a win from Ezerkis at #4 (6-4, 2-6, 6-0) that gave the Cardinals the 4-1 dual win.
Wheaton’s Janet Kondo was a straight-sets winner at #6 singles, 7-6, 6-2. The remaining singles matches were in a third set before Ezerkis’s win ended the dual.
Kate Herlihy of North Central was given the CCIW’s Elite 26 award prior to the match. Modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 program, the CCIW Elite 26 is presented to the student-athlete who excels academically and athletically at the conference level in each of the CCIW's 26 sponsored sports.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).