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

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (April 30, 2022) - Heading to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, the North Central College women's tennis team defeated Wheaton 5-0 in the championship match of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Automatic Qualifier Tournament.

Natalie Bassett and Kaeli Smashey secured the first win of the match for North Central with an 8-2 win over Lydia Adams and Bethany Hoogerheide at No. 2. At No. 1, Hannah Hougland and Alaina Kanthaphixay earned an 8-3 win before Sydney Sawyer and Mikayla Edquiban won 8-3 to put the Cardinals on top, 3-0 heading into singles play.

Needing just two wins to win the match, Edquiban rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles. To lock in the victory, Smashey earned a 6-3, 6-1 win over Abygale Ahn at the No. 1 position. Every Cardinals singles player won their respective first set. North Central posted an 8-0 CCIW record and won the CCIW automatic berth for the second consecutive season.

The Cardinals await their opponent for the NCAA Tournament, with the selection show happening on May 9th on NCAA.com

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