Carthage College Athletics

The Carthage College men's tennis team, coached by Brady Lindsley, went 18-7 in 2009, won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Men’s Tennis Championship for the sixth-straight year and the seventh time in nine years. Carthage won the conference title with a 6-3 win over Wheaton College (Ill.) at Carthage’s Smeds Tennis Center in Kenosha, Wis. The top-seeded Red Men had a first-round bye in the championship and defeated fifth-seeded Augustana College (Ill.), 5-2, in a semifinal match. Third-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University lost to second-seeded Wheaton (Ill.) by a 7-2 margin in the other semifinal contest.

The CCIW does not have the required seven teams mandated by the NCAA to be granted an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship. Only six CCIW teams sponsor men’s tennis, with both Millikin University and North Park University dropping their programs after the 2003 season. The Red Men received an at-large berth in the championship for the sixth-straight year. Carthage traveled to St. Louis, Mo., to play in the Central Region Championship at the Washington University (Mo.) Tao Tennis Center. The Red Men shut out Westminster College (13-7), 5-0, in a first-round match. Carthage advanced but lost to No. 1 and defending-national-champion Washington (Mo., 5-0, in the regional semifinals.

Among the other CCIW schools, only Illinois Wesleyan University and Wheaton College (Ill.) has ever been invited to the NCAA championship. Illinois Wesleyan qualified for the 1997 and 1998 championships, while Wheaton (Ill.) qualified for the 1996, 2003 and 2008 events.

Four members of the Carthage team earned All-CCIW honors. Number-one singles player Jack Schiro (Jr., Shorewood, Wis., 23-4) and number-two singles player Sammy Ramoni (Jr., Honiara, Guadalcanal/New Mexico Military Institute, 27-2) were named first-team All-CCIW, while number-three singles player J.T. Delk (Jr., Wheaton, Ill./North, 13-12) and number-four singles player Matt Whiteside (Fr., Sacramento, Calif./Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep, 21-5) earned second-team all-conference honors. In addition, Delk was named CCIW Men’s Tennis Championship “most valuable player.” Also returning are number-five singles player Andy Schwenke (Jr., Mukwonago, Wis., 8-16) and number-six singles player Alex McLean (Fr., Belleville, Ill./West, 15-12).