BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With their biggest upset win in program history, the North Park Women's Tennis team took down No. 2 seed Wheaton College in the CCIW Tournament Semifinals by a score of 5-2. The Vikings will now play in their first ever conference tournament championship against North Central, the league's top-ranked team, on Saturday morning.
North Park set the tone for the rest of the day in doubles action to open up their semifinal match. In matches as close as you can get, the Vikings came away with a sweep in doubles play. #2 doubles of Carla Cazes and Hanna Zethraeus were first to finish, breaking away from a 4-3 advantage while winning the next four sets to take the opener 8-3. #3 doubles of Maddie Starr and Ella Darrow also diffused a 3-3 tied score by winning five of the next six sets to win the match, 8-4. #1 doubles of Alexandra Ristfeldt and Katarina Carlberg mounted a comeback to secure the sweep. The duo trailed 4-3 before coming from behind to steal one away from the strong Thunder team of Madeline Gentry (in consideration for singles regional rankings) and Lydia Adams.
North Park singles play saw #4 player Carla Cazes finish first with a pair of decisive and important 6-2, 6-1 victories.
Needing just one more win to advance to the championship match, #3 singles player Katarina Carlberg did just that, earning 6-3, 6-1 victories to seal the deal for NPU Tennis.
There's plenty of "program firsts" for the Vikings in this one. Most notably: first ever win over Wheaton, first CCIW semifinal win, and first championship finals appearance.
Wheaton was slotted fifth in the NCAA's Region VI rankings and it goes without saying that championship matches will not be easy. The Vikings will play regionally third-ranked North Central on Saturday, April 27, at 10:00 AM. The site in Bloomington is currently TBD, pending weather.
