Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Apr. 26, 2025) – Claiming their fifth straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Automatic Qualifier Tournament, the North Central College women's tennis team avenged a loss to Wheaton College in October with a 4-1 victory over the Thunder on Saturday at Evergreen Racquet Club.

Abigail Penados and Natalie Bassett rolled to a 6-0 win at No. 1 over Madeline Gentry and Lydia Adams before Liveta Ezerskis and Meghan McSweeney picked up a 6-3 victory at No. 3 over Janet Kondo and Alexandra Wachs to claim the doubles point.

Wheaton captured their first team point at No. 6 singles before the Cardinals retook the lead as Penados won 6-2, 6-4 over Gentry. Kensington Payne battled to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win at No. 3 to bring North Central within a point of the title. Ezerskis fought to claim a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles to clinch the win for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals await their opponent in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The selection show is set for 11 a.m. on May 5 at NCAA.com.

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