Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Oct. 19, 2022 - Kensington Payne of the North Central College women's tennis team captured her first career College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Player of the Week award for her performance against Wheaton College on Saturday.

In the Cardinals' lone match of the week, Payne posted an 8-0 victory at No. 2 doubles before cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 singles win at the No. 4 position on the way to a 7-2 win over the Thunder to claim a CCIW regular season title.

On the year, she is 12-0 with a perfect 7-0 conference record in singles play. Her doubles resume is just as impressive with a 15-1 overall mark while going 8-0 against CCIW competition.

She joins Natalie Bassett as the two Cardinals to earn a CCIW weekly honor this season and is the 14th player in program history to be selected. Teammates Mikayla Edquiban and Kaeli Smashey have also won CCIW Player of the Week accolades in their careers.

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