Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (Sept. 21, 2019) – Facing some of the toughest competition in the region, the North Central College women's tennis team sent Hannah Hougland and Alaina Kanthaphixay to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region Championship over the weekend, hosted inside Stowe Stadium on the campus of Kalamazoo College, as the pair turned in an impressive performance including the highest doubles finish in nearly a decade for the program.

Hougland and Kanthaphixay opened doubles play on Thursday with a hard fought 8-6 victory over Kalamazoo's Laura Hanselman and Caroline Norton in the round of 32.

Advancing to the round of 16 on day two, the duo faced their toughest match so far this season in fifth-seeded Alexandra Cash and Hannah Cianciola of Denison University (Ohio).  After a thrilling back-and-forth battle, the unseeded Cardinal duo clawed out a 8-7 win to move on to the quarter finals.

In their quarter-final match, Hougland and Kanthaphixay squared off against second-seeded Amanda Bandrowski and Claire Hallock of Hope College (Michigan), where their tournament ultimately came to an end as the pair suffered their first defeat of the season 8-3.

In singles play, Hougland suffered a hard to swallow defeat in the opening round, rolling to a 6-1 first-set win over Augustana College's Annie Timm, but could not hang on in the end, dropping the final two sets 6-4, 6-2.

Shaking off the tough first round loss, Hougland bounced back nicely in the backdraw, keeping her tournament alive with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Cami Jones of Hanover College (Indiana).

On day two of singles play, Hougland rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 win in the backdraw round of 16, taking down Wittenberg University's Paige Meyers, before suffering a 6-1, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Denison's Alexandra Cash in the quarter finals to end her tournament run.

Kanthaphixay received a tough draw in the opening round of singles play, dropping a 6-2, 6-1 final to Perene Wang of the University of Chicago, before falling 6-0, 6-4 to Lillian Cameron of DePauw University (Indiana) in the first round of backdraws.

North Central returns to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play on Wednesday, Sept. 25, hosting Carthage College at 2:30 p.m. at Nike Park.

Download the free North Central Cardinals app, available for iOS and Android devices, to receive up-to-the-minute news, scores and updates on your favorite North Central teams. Click HERE for more information.