Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
Box Score
Apr. 9, 2021 – Scoring perhaps the biggest dual match victory in program history, the North Central College women's tennis team defeated Wheaton College for the first time in over 20 years with a 8-1 final at Nike Park on Friday.
With dual records only going back to the late 1990s, the last known date that North Central defeated Wheaton is unknown, needless to say, none of the current student-athletes on the roster were born the last time the Cardinals defeated the Thunder.
Opening with a sweep of doubles play, the Cardinals scored more points against the Thunder in doubles play on Friday than in any single match since at least 1998.
Hannah Hougland and
Alaina Kanthaphixay put the Cardinals on the board with a 8-2 defeat of Emme Lindquist and Abygale Ahn at the No. 1 position.
At No. 3, the duo of
Kaeli Smashey and
Nina Patience scored a 8-4 victory over Bethany Hoogerheider and Lindsey Anderson, before
Mikayla Edquiban and
Sydney Sawyer completed the clean sweep at No. 2 with a 8-5 win over Mary Streller and Claire Dibble.
Taking the 3-0 lead into singles play, North Central wasted no time in clinching the match win as Sawyer made quick work of Hoogerheide, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 to set up match-point. That was the lone set to finish in straight sets, as North Central completed a total team effort to win four of the final five three-set matches.
Edquiban clinched the win for the Cardinals at No. 4, overcoming a 1-6 loss in the first set to roll to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Streller, before Smashey clawed out a hard-fought 7-5, 2-6, 10-3 win atop the lineup over Lindquist.
Increasing the match score 7-0, Kanthaphixay scored a come-from-behind 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Dibble at the No. 3 spot. The Thunder (4-3, 3-1 CCIW) avoided the clean sweep with a win at No. 6, but Hougland ended an already exciting evening on a high note with a 6-1, 5-7, 10-5 thriller at No. 2.
North Central (7-4, 4-0 CCIW) now sits in sole possession of first-place in the CCIW standings with four regular-season matches remaining. The Cardinals return to the court on Thursday, Apr. 15, traveling to Elmhurst College with matches scheduled for 3 p.m. at Brune Tennis Courts.
