CHICAGO, Ill. -- In the toughest College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) match the North Central Cardinals have had since the Spring of 2021, North Park women's tennis played the Cardinals to a gritty 6-3 loss on Saturday. The Cardinals, who are undefeated this season, had not given up more than two sets against a CCIW opponent since a 6-3 win over Augustana on April 17, 2021.
From the very start, the Vikings showed their opponents in the round of doubles they were ready to fight, staying neck-and-neck with the Cardinals in all three doubles matches.
In fast-paced and intense points, the two teams traded service aces in the first several games of the match. It was anybody's game. The 2nd doubles team of Alexandra Ristfeldt and Katarina Carlberg pulled ahead first, toppling their opponents 8-4. The 1st and 3rd doubles were much closer with neither side giving an inch in the competition. Both match ups went to tiebreakers at seven games a piece. Thanks to strong serves and deft net play, the 3rd doubles team of Carla Cazes and Maddie Starr would emerge triumphant in extra points to win, 10-8, in the tiebreaker. 1st Doubles of Hanna Zethreus and Teodora Kraljevic, just returning from an injury, would fall in a 8-10 tiebreaker score.
Going into singles play up 2-1 gave North Park a boost, but the league's top, undefeated team fought back. Carla Cazes was the lone Viking to win their first set against North Central. While most of the opening sets were close, North Central regained the momentum and looked like they would have the match locked up. Teodora Kraljevic roared back, however, in the second set and won a commanding 6-1, forcing a third set. Maddie Starr also came back and won her second set to force a third-set tiebreaker. With Carla Cazes winning her match in two sets, North Park had a chance to hand North Central their first loss of the season. However, the Cardinals were not done fighting, and pushed the Vikings back to take the third set in both of the final competitions.
"Our team played at the highest level all season and came within two tiebreakers of taking down the conference champion," said Viking Head Coach Karl Soderstrom. "We kept the fight going until the end, forcing third sets and tiebreakers. Coach Miranda Rodriguez and I are proud of this team for bringing such commitment and high-level competition to our conference play when it really matters. We are poised to finish the fall season strong this next week, and look ahead to next spring's CCIW conference tournament where we wil bel ready to meet our rivals one more time."
What's Next?
North Park (7-2, 4-2 CCIW) currently sits third-place in the CCIW standings. Augustana, Carroll, Carthage, and Millikin all have three losses, so these next two matches (Oct. 9 at Carthage and Oct. 11 vs. Millikin) will significantly shake up the CCIW standings.
