Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
RACINE, Wis. (Apr. 12, 2019) – On the verge of defeat, the North Central College men's tennis team won the final three matches of the evening to complete a miraculous comeback win over Carthage College on Friday, defeating the Red Men for the first time since 2011 and snapping an eight-match losing streak while improving to 2-1 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play.
In a back-and-forth affair inside Life Sport Athletic Club, North Central (14-4, 2-1 CCIW) gained an early advantage taking two of the three doubles positions, as
Justin Howes and
Lucas Pindak led off the scoring with a 8-6 defeat of Andre Antreassian and Fordy Leipold at the No. 3 position.
At No. 1 doubles,
Victor Krueger and
Andy Hinch were no match for Tripp Schulte and John Nykyforuk at No. 1, winning 8-3, before the Red Men (13-6, 2-2 CCIW) avoided the sweep with a 8-5 win at No. 2.
Carthage quickly turned the tables however to begin singles play, as wins at No. 1, 2 and 4 suddenly had the Cardinals on the ropes facing a 4-2 deficit with just three matches to play.
Tyler Haizel inched the Cardinals closer to the lead with a comeback 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 thriller of a win over Antreassian at No. 3 to keep North Central alive for the time being.
Next to finish was Pindak at the No. 6 position, as his dominant 6-2, 6-2 striaght-set win over Oscar Irazoque knotted the score 4-4 with just the No. 5 battle between Hinch and Matt Krzewinski left playing.
Hinch rolled to an easy 6-1 win in the opening set but stumbled in the second, falling 6-4 with the match suddenly riding on the final set of the evening. Not to be denied, the freshman showed the poise of an upperclassmen, mounting a 6-4 comeback win in the third set to clinch the team win for North Central.
The Cardinals look to carry that momentum into Saturday's match, traveling to Carroll University in another match moved indoors to Lake Country Racquet Club in Hartland, Wis. scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
