No. 32 Carthage 4, No. 36 North Central 1
BLOOMINGTON – The Carthage men's tennis team competed in the 2026 CCIW Men's Tennis Championship match against the top-seeded North Central College Cardinals on Saturday afternoon. The Firebirds claimed the doubles point with a 2-0 decision to take an early lead over the Cardinals. The two squads then battled through singles play, where the Firebirds claimed three of the four points to win their first CCIW Tournament title since 2023. 

 

In doubles play, Finn Morris and Diego Silva defeated Henry Ros and Andres Valverde 6-2 in No. 1 doubles. Francisco Silveira and Ethan Foucheaux claimed the team point with a 6-3 win in No. 3 doubles against Matt Crossland and David Vilarroig Martinez. Carthage took a 1-0 lead into singels play.

In singles play, Morris extended the lead with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win in No. 3 singles over Valverde. The Cardinals then got on the board with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win for Ros in No. 2 singles over Silva to cut the deficit to 2-1. Luca Okino extended the Carthage lead back to two points with a 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4 win in No. 5 singles over Ignacio Ruiz Hernandez. In No. 1 singles, Silveira fell behind early with a 6-1 loss to Philipp Wottgen, before going down 4-1. Silveira then went on a 12-1 run, evening the match with a 7-5 win before shutting out Wottgen 6-0 to clinch the conference title for the Firebirds.


 
The Firebirds (22-3, 6-1 CCIW) have punched their ticket to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament. The team will learn who their opening match opponent will be on Monday, May 4 at 11:30 a.m. CST. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.