KENOSHA, Wis. - After falling to 1-3 early on in conference play in the 2022-2023 season, the Carthage Firebirds women's tennis team never blinked. The Firebirds, led by the jaw-dropping play of first-year tennis player Xingchen Liu, rebounded to take three of their next four matches to finish the conference schedule at .500 (4-4).

Though many weren't familiar with Xingchen Liu - the team's first-year savant from Hefei, China - Liu's results quickly brought everyone up to speed; helping Carthage claw back from an early-season funk, the team's No. 1 singles player went a perfect 8-0 in CCIW singles matches and finished the fall with a stellar 12-2 record. 

The Firebirds split their first two non-conference dual matches of the Spring, falling to UW-Eau Claire before sweeping Illinois Institute of Technology 9-0 in early March. Sitting at 5-5, the Firebirds prepared to flock down South for their annual Spring Break trip to Florida. 

Carthage fell to Saint Mary's College (Ind.) before taking on 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship-qualifier Saint Thomas Aquinas, whose experience got the best of the young Firebirds in Orlando. The following day, the Firebirds rebounded to take out an NCAA Division III Championship-qualifier in Transylvania, as Carthage won 6-3. Xingchen Liu and Giana Apostoli went undefeated on the day, each picking up wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, after winning together at the No. 1 doubles flight. The Firebirds ended the trip down South on a high note, sweeping UW-Superior 9-0 in dominating fashion. 

Upon returning home to Kenosha, Carthage swept Lake Forest after picking up three-set victories at No. 3 (da Silva) and No. 4 singles (Mendes) to move its win streak to three matches - its first win streak of the season. Though Carthage's streak was snapped in a tough loss to an exceptional UW-La Crosse team just days later, the Firebirds demonstrated resolve in a huge way. Facing off against its fourth NCAA qualifier of the season, Carthage dispatched Concordia (Wis.) 7-2 with relative ease in Mequon, Wisconsin to kickstart a new streak. Closing the regular season on a three-match win streak and as winners of six of its last seven matches, the Firebirds entered the 2023 CCIW Women's Tennis Championship playing excellent tennis. 

The No. 4 Firebirds had their momentum halted by No. 5 Augustana in Plainfield, Illinois, putting an end to their up-and-down - yet promising - season. Though the season may not have ended in euphoric fashion, Carthage completed one of its best seasons in recent memory. The team's 11 wins were its most the 2017-2018 season, when the program earned 14 wins. Head men's and women's tennis coach Brady Lindsley eclipsed 800 career coaching victories as the leader of Carthage's tennis programs. Xingchen Liu won 20 matches in singles while falling only three times, tying her for the 11th-highest single-season win percentage in singles matches in program history (.870, tied with Heidi Henschel); Liu also became the fourth player in program history to be named CCIW Student-Athlete of the Year (Lesinski, Mikkila, Ha. McPeek) and the second to be named CCIW newcomer of the year (Apostoli). 

The Firebirds won 58.1% of their singles matches this season, racking up 79 wins across the six flights between the Fall and the Spring. The team won 53.4% of its doubles matches, led by a 13-3 record by the regular No. 1 flight (Apostoli/Liu, 81.25% winning percentage). 



 

• 9/1 | at North Park University | W | 6-3
• 9/3 | Warhawk Invitational | T-4 of 7 | 
• 9/9 | at Carroll University (Wis.) | L | 4-5
• 9/17 | vs Wheaton College (Ill.) | L | 2-7
• 9/20 | vs North Central College | L | 1-8
• 9/23-9/25 | ITA Midwest Regional Tournament | No team result
• 9/28 | at Elmhurst University | W | 9-0
• 10/7 | vs Millikin University | L | 4-5
• 10/8 | vs Illinois Wesleyan University | W | 9-0
• 10/15 | at Augustana College | W | 6-3
• 2/25 | vs UW-Eau Claire | L | 1-8
• 3/5 | at Illinois Institute of Technology | W | 9-0
• Spring Break Trip | Florida
  • 3/14 | vs Saint Mary's College (Ind.) | L | 3-6
  • 3/15 | vs Saint Thomas Aquinas College | L | 0-7
  • 3/16 | vs Transylvania University | W | 6-3
  • 3/17 | vs UW-Superior | W | 9-0
• 3/26 | vs Lake Forest College | W | 9-0
• 3/31 | vs UW-La Crosse | L | 3-6
• 4/12 | at Concordia University (Wis.) | W | 7-2
• 4/16 | vs MSOE | W | 9-0
• 4/16 | vs Edgewood College | W | 8-1
• 2023 CCIW Women's Tennis Championship
  • 4/20 | vs No. 5 Augustana (Ill.) | L | 1-5

Award Winners

• Seniors Giana Apostoli (biology and neurology) and Sierra Sonnemaker (accounting & finance), as well as sophomore Maddie Kearney (nursing), were selected to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2023 Academic All-District ® Women's Tennis Team for their combined excellence on the court and in the classroom.
• Sierra Sonnemaker was named as one of Carthage's two Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference honorees following the fall semester; Each CCIW member institution selects two student-athletes (one men's athlete & one women's athlete) from each of the three sports seasons (fall, winter, spring) to be honored as Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference members. To be eligible, an individual must have an overall grade point average of 3.50 or above and have served at least one year in residency at their respective institution. Sonnemaker also took home the program's CCIW RESPECT Award for the second year in a row; at the conclusion of every sports season, each varsity program will recognize one student-athlete as their RESPECT Award honoree. RESPECT Award recipients have distinguished themselves as integral members of their team, their institution and their community by upholding the values of Responsibility, Enthusiasm, Service, Pride, Excellence, Collaboration and Trust. To complete a year full of awards, the senior also earned Carthage's women's tennis scholar-athlete award, presented at this year's Embers awards show in early May. 
• First-year student-athlete Xingchen Liu brought home a bevy of honors this season, including: CCIW Women's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Year, CCIW Newcomer of the Year, All-CCIW First-Team honors, Carthage's women's tennis' most valuable performer, and Carthage Athletics' Female Newcomer of the Year. 
• Senior Giana Apostoli earned second-team all-conference honors, earning All-CCIW recognition for the third time in her career. 

Singles Wins Leaders

• 1. Xingchen Liu - 20
• T2. Maddie Kearney - 12
• T2. Sierra Sonnemaker - 12
• 4. Giana Apostoli - 9

Doubles Wins Leaders

• 1. Giana Apostoli/Xingchen Liu - 13
• 2. Sasha Manojlovic/Giovanna Mendes - 5
• T3. Giovanna Mendes/Sierra Sonnemaker - 4
• T3. Sasha Manojlovic/Marie Weis - 4

Total Wins Leaders

• 1. Xingchen Liu - 36
• 2. Giana Apostoli - 23
• 3. Sierra Sonnemaker - 20

 

1. North Central (Ill.) - 23-7 (8-0)
2. Millikin - 12-5 (7-1)
3. Wheaton (Ill.) - 17-5 (6-2)
4. Augustana (Ill.) - 10-7 (4-4)
5. Carthage - 11-9 (4-4)
6. North Park - 8-9 (3-5)
7. Carroll (Wis.) - 8-12 (3-5)
8. Elmhurst - 8-8 (1-7)
9. Illinois Wesleyan - 1-14 (0-8)

"The ladies had a very successful season. We finished the regular season top four in a very competitive CCIW.  We battled several injuries and illnesses throughout the year but everyone pulled together and competed hard every singles match," remarked Carthage Firebirds head men's and women's tennis coach Brady Lindsley.

"We had some great results and performances from everyone but in particular, first-year student Xingchen Liu. She was undefeated in the conference at No. 1 singles and was named the Athlete of the Year in the CCIW. We also had some great individual results from our two graduating seniors, Giana Apostoli and Sierra Sonnemaker. Both of these seniors have done an unbelievable job their entire careers and this program will miss them greatly."