CCIW-Champion Men's Tennis Falls to Luther, 5-1, in NCAA First Round

The Carthage College men’s tennis team (Miguel Yunes14-9, 4-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) lost to Luther College (30-9), 5-1, on Friday, May 2 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.  Carthage, this year’s CCIW champion, received a Pool B berth, since the CCIW does not have an automatic qualifier to the championship.  Conferences are required to have at least seven teams playing a sport in order to receive an automatic qualifier.  Only six CCIW teams sponsor men’s tennis, with both Millikin University and North Park University dropping their programs after the 2003 season.  This was Carthage’s sixth-straight NCAA regional appearance.

Second-seeded Carthage won CCIW Men’s Tennis Championship on Saturday, April 26 by edging top-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 14-6, 5-0 CCIW), 5-4, in the title match at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill.  The league championship was the sixth for the Red Men and their fifth in a row.  Carthage, with a first-round bye, won its Friday, April 25 semifinal match, 7-2, over third-seeded Augustana College (Ill., 19-8, 3-2 CCIW), while Augustana (Ill.) was a 9-0 winner over sixth-seeded North Central College (2-6, 0-5) on Friday in first-round action.  Wheaton (Ill.) also had a bye, and the Thunder shut out fourth-seeded Illinois Wesleyan University (7-14, 2-3), 9-0, on Friday night in the other semifinal contest.  Illinois Wesleyan was an 8-1 winner over fifth-seeded Elmhurst College (4-14, 1-4) in the first round on Friday.  Carthage’s win over Wheaton (Ill.) in the title match was also the 200th career victory for Red Men head coach Brady Lindsley (200-74, 11 years).
 
Carthage’s Miguel Yunes (Sr., Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, 21-5), ranked sixth in the April 15 Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Central Region rankings, defeated Josh Williams from Wheaton College (Ill.), 6-2, 7-5, at number-one singles on April 26 in the title match of the CCIW Men’s Tennis Championship.  Jack Schiro (So., Shorewood, Wis., 20-7) defeated the Thunder’s Justin Miller, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, at number-two singles.  Sergio Lopez (Jr., Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, 19-7) defeated Davis Moore, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, at number-three singles.  J.T. Delk (So., Wheaton, Ill./North, 14-13) lost to Ian Kirchner number-four singles, Kirchner winning, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.  Andy Schwenke (So., Mukwonago, Wis., 8-17) lost to David Warren at number-five singles, Warren winning, 6-1, 6-3.  Joey Perkins (Jr., Freeport, Ill., 5-12) lost to Jordan Williams at number-six singles, Williams winning, 6-0, 6-0. 

The Red Men’s number-one doubles team of Yunes and Lopez (22-4), ranked ninth in the April 15 ITA Central Regional rankings, was a winner over the Thunder’s Josh Williams/Justin Miller, 8-2.  Schiro/Delk (12-12) defeated Moore/Kevin Graham, 8-2, with Schwenke/Perkins (5-9) losing to Jordan Williams/Warren by an 8-1 margin.