WHEATON, Ill. - For the first time since 2016, the Carthage College men's tennis team are champions of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). In a rematch of the 2022 championship final, which was won 5-4 by North Central College in Kenosha, the Firebird won a 5-4 thriller to clinch the team's 12th conference championship in program history. 

The Firebirds earned every bit of the jubilation they experienced after Luca Okino won championship point at No. 5 singles, as the team came back from multiple deficits to exact its revenge on the Cardinals.

After falling at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, the team fell behind 2-0 to start the match, meaning it had to win four of six singles matches to win the title. It cannot be understated how important Cooper Ferruzzi and Francisco Silveira's No. 2 doubles victory was to Carthage's win today; winners of 17 of their 20 doubles matches at the No. 2 flight this season, the talented tandem defeated North Central 12-10 in a tiebreaker after splitting the first 14 games of the pivotal match to give Carthage a chance. 

The two heavyweights split the first four singles matches with the results coming in rather quickly, setting up a situation in which Carthage had to win the final two matches to avoid a second-consecutive defeat to the Cardinals in the title match. Francisco Silveira, a first-team All-CCIW performer and CCIW First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year, took down North Central's Javier Suarez to make the No. 5 singles match a championship-defining battle. 

After falling 6-2 in set one, first-year student-athlete Luca Okino - from São Paulo, Brazil - faced a tall task in front of him. Okino formulated a strong response in set two, winning 6-3 to set up a monumental third set. North Central's Guillermo Gonzalez and Okino went toe to toe, splitting the first ten games of the set. The young, promising Okino - with the weight of the world on his shoulders - dug deep and delivered on championship point to make program history and etch his name into Carthage lore forever. 

With the win today, the Firebirds have now won 12 CCIW Championships, and have now won 12 of the last 21 conference championships. The win is the first for Carthage and Coach Lindsley since 2016, which is also the last time the tournament was hosted by Wheaton College (Ill.). This year's men's tennis team is the 891st conference champion (team or individual) in school history, and joins women's volleyball and women's bowling (regular season and CCIW tournament) as Carthage's 2022-2023 team conference champions. 

The CCIW Championship victory earned the team automatic qualification to the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships, which will take place from Saturday, May 13 through Sunday, May 21. The Championships will be held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. More information on Carthage's trip to Florida will be released when it becomes available. 



 

• Final Score: No. 2 Carthage 5, No. 1 North Central 4
• Location: Wheaton Tennis Courts - Wheaton, Illinois
• Records: Carthage 18-5 (6-1 CCIW), North Central 17-8 (6-1 CCIW)

Singles Competition 

1. Ramon Vilarroig (NCC) def. Yanozie Amadike (CAR) 6-2, 6-3
2. Francisco Silveira (CAR) def. Javier Suarez (NCC) 6-3, 6-4
3. Myles Krzewinski (CAR) def. Matt Sengphommachanh (NCC) 6-0, 6-2
4. Cooper Ferruzzi (CAR) def. Daniel Estanislao (NCC) 6-1, 7-5
5. Luca Okino (CAR) def. Guillermo Gonzalez (NCC) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Colten Way (NCC) def. Marco Czosnyka (CAR) 6-1, 7-5

Doubles Competition

1. Vilarroig/Gonzalez (NCC) def. Amadike/Krzewinski (CAR) 8-2
2. Silveira/Ferruzzi (CAR) def. Suarez/Way (NCC) 8-7 (12-10)
3. Estanislao/Sengphommachanh (NCC) def. Czosnyka/Jaworski (CAR) 8-5

Order of Finish:

Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,1,6,4,2,5)



 

• The CCIW Championship victory earned the team automatic qualification to the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships, which will take place from Saturday, May 13 through Sunday, May 21. The Championships will be held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.