KENOSHA – The Carthage men's tennis team opened the 2024-25 season by hosting the 2024 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Individual Championships at Smeds Tennis Center on Saturday and Sunday. It was a strong showing for the Firebirds, who came away with championships in six of the 11 flights of brackets. 

 

SINGLES

Flight 1 showcased Cooper Ferruzzi and Diego Silva. Ferruzzi opened the tournament with a win over Dani Ezcurra Carroll (Wis.), defeating his opponent 7-6 (1), 6-4. Ferruzzi then dropped a tight 4-6, 6-1 (10-4) defeat to Ramon Vilarroig of North Central (Ill.) Silva defeated Matt Sengphommachanh of North Central 4-6, 6-2 (11-9), before falling to Carroll's Adrian Gomez 7-5, 6-2. Ferruzzi and Silva both went to the third place match, which they did not play.

Flight 2 featured Luca Okino and Finn Morris. Okino opened with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Illinois Wesleyan's Ben Vigneri, before defeating North Central's Ignacio Hernandez Ruiz 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the championship match. Morris opened with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Carroll's Andrew LaBelle, and went on to earn the win over North Central's Rafael Lessa with a 3-6, 6-3 (10-5) performance. Okino and Morris did not play against each other for a championship match.

Marco Czosnyka and Cyriac Cayuela represented the Firebirds in Flight 3. Czosnyka opened with a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Matt Kordesh of Millikin. In the consolation semifinals, Czosnyka defeated Russell Reyes 6-0, 6-1, and went on to defeat Jack McCaffrey of Carroll 6-3, 6-4 to place fifth. Cayuela opened with a 6-3, 6-3 win over McCaffrey, before defeating Henry Ros of North Central 7-5, 6-3. In the Championship round, Cayuela defeated North Central's Justin Penados 6-3, 7-5 to win the flight championship.

Miles Whelan and Daniel Jaworski competed in Flight 4 for the Firebirds. Whelan defeated Elmhurst's Muhammad Salman 6-0, 6-0, before defeating Ryan LaBelle of Carroll 6-4, 7-6 (3). Jaworski defeated Matt Crossland of North Central 7-5, 6-2. He then defeated Carroll's Mark Trinka 2-6, 6-4 (10-4). In the championship round, Whelan defeated Jaworski 6-2, 6-4.

Flight 5 featured Carthage's Chris Mitev. Mitev opened the tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Elmhurst's Cory Freed. Mitev then won 6-3, 6-0 over Illinois Wesleyan's Zeke Cross to advance to the championship round, where he would fall 3-6, 6-4 (10-6) to North Central's David Villaroig.

James Schweitzer and Ruairi Gilbert represented Carthage in Flight 6. Schweitzer defeated Elmhurst's Charalampos Vasilpoulos 6-0, 6-1, before earning a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Illinois Wesleyan's Chase Tomecki. In the championship round, Schweitzer fell to North Central's Dieter Gonzalaz 6-4, 6-3. Gilbert fell to Gonzalaz 6-0, 6-1, before falling to Millikin's Max Macke 6-2, 6-4. Gilbert went on to win the seventh place match 7-5, 6-7 (8) (10-8) over Elmhurst's Adrian Sonco.

Flight 7 showcased David McCormick and Aiden Friedman. McCormick advanced to the second round on a bye before earning a 6-3, 6-0 win over Paolo Tonelli of Millikin to advance to the championship round. Friedman defeated Elmhurst's Pranit Shah 6-0, 6-0, before advancing past Illinois Wesleyan's Sebastian Rasquin 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), (10-5). Friedman defeated McCormick in the championship 6-4, 6-3.

DOUBLES

Ferruzzi and Silva partnered up in Flight 1, as did Francisco Silveira and Cayuela. Ferruzzi and Silva fell in the opening round to Millikin 8-7 (4), before defeating Elmhurst 8-2. The duo then defeated Carroll 8-2 for fifth place. Silveira and Cayuela opened with an 8-3 win over North Central B, before defeating Illinois Wesleyan 8-2. The duo fell to North Central A 8-7 (6) in the championship round.

Flight 2 featured a pairing of Morris and Okino, and a pairing of Czosnyka and Jaworski. Morris and Okino defeated Elmhurst 8-0, before defeating a duo from North Central 8-0. They then claimed the championship with an 8-5 win over another duo from North Central. Cznosyka and Jaworski defeated a Millikin team 8-7 (4), before losing to North Central 8-6, and another North Central team 8-2 for fourth place.

Gilbert and Schweitzer teamed up in Flight 3, falling to Illinois Wesleyan 8-4. The duo went on to defeat Elmhurst 8-2, before falling to North Central 8-4. Whelan and Mitev teamed up for Carthage's second duo in the flight. The duo won the first match over North Central 8-6 before falling to Carroll 8-7 (5). The duo would go on to take the third place match 8-1 over Illinois Wesleyan.

Friedman and McCormick opened the four-team bracket against Elmhurst in Flight 4, where they won 8-2. The duo went on to defeat another Elmhurst team 8-3 in the championship match.


 
The Firebirds will return to action on Friday, Sept. 27 at the ITA Regional hosted by Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minn. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.