#1 North Central 4, #4 Carthage 1
BLOOMINGTON – The Carthage women's tennis team competed in the CCIW Women's Tennis Tournament Semifinal match against the top-seeded North Central Cardinals on Friday morning. The Firebirds took an early lead in doubles play, before adverse weather moved the match indoors. The Cardinals used the break to gain momentum and defeated the Firebirds to advance to the CCIW Championship match.

 

In doubles play, Niki Manojlovic and Sasha Manojlovic fell to Natalie Bassett and Abigail Penados in #1 doubles 6-2. Maddie Kearney and Xingchen Liu earned a 6-4 win in #2 doubles over Kate Herlihy and Kensington Payne. With the two squads tied at 1-1 in doubles play, it came down to #3 doubles, where Giovanna Mendes and Greta Peterson defeated Liveta Ezerskis and Meghan McSweeney 7-6 (11-9) to give the Firebirds a 1-0 lead on the team scoreboard.

In singles play, S. Manojlovic fell to Bassett 6-1, 6-0 in #2 singles, tying the match at 1-1. Peterson dropped a #3 singles match to Payne 6-2, 6-4, while Liu fell to Penados 7-5, 6-2 in #1 singles. North Central held a 3-1 lead and had Carthage on the ropes, needing just one point to secure the victory.. In #6 singles, N. Manojlovic battled hard against McSweeney, but ultimately fell 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (12-10). The Cardinals defeated the Firebirds 4-1.


 
The Firebirds (12-9) season has come to an end. Carthage women's tennis will return in the fall of 2025. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.