2007 Carthage Men’s Tennis Review/2008 Season Outlook

2007 Season Review

The Carthage College men's tennis team, coached by Brady Lindsley, went 18-6 in 2007, won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Men’s Tennis Championship for the fourth-straight year and the fifth time in seven years.  The CCIW does not have the required seven teams mandated by the NCAA to be granted an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship.  The Red Men received an at-large berth in the championship for the fourth-straight year.  Carthage lost to Wisconsin-Whitewater, 5-4, in a second-round match played at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

Among the other CCIW schools, only Illinois Wesleyan University and Wheaton College (Ill.) has ever been invited to the NCAA championship.  Illinois Wesleyan went to the 1997 and 1998 championship, while Wheaton (Ill.) qualified for the 1996 and 2003 events.

Carthage won the CCIW title with a 7-2 win over second-seeded Wheaton College (Ill., 12-9) in the championship match of the CCIW Men’s Tennis Championship at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill.  The Red Men, the top-seeded team in the tournament, blanked Illinois Wesleyan University, 9-0, in a semifinal contest.  No. 3 Augustana College (Ill., 12-15) defeated No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan (4-15), 7-2, in the third-place match.  In opening-round action, Illinois Wesleyan defeated No. 4 Elmhurst College, 6-3, while Augustana (Ill.) defeated No. 6 North Central College by an 8-1 margin.  Elmhurst (12-10) defeated North Central (1-10), 8-1, in the fifth-place match.  Carthage has gone undefeated in CCIW regular-season play for the last four years, and the Red Men have not lost a regular-season conference match since falling to Wheaton College (Ill.), 6-1, on March 28, 2003.

Four member of the Carthage squad were named to the 2007 All-CCIW team.  Miguel Yunes (Sr., Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, 21-6), Sergio Lopez (Jr., Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, 21-5) and Jack Schiro (So., Shorewood, Wis., 14-8) were named first-team All-CCIW, while Dave Sands (graduated-senior, Carrollton, Wis./Hebron, 18-8) earned second-team all-conference honors.  Brady Lindsley was named CCIW “Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year” for the sixth time.  Lindsley also earned the award in 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.  Yunes and Sands were both named second-team All-CCIW in 2006.

Miguel Yunes, Carthage’s number-one singles player, defeated Illinois Wesleyan University’s Dan Chang, 6-1, 6-0, as the Red Men blanked the Titans, 9-0, in the semifinals of the CCIW Men’s Tennis Championship.  Yunes lost to Josh Williams from Wheaton College (Ill.), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the Red Men’s 7-2 decision over the Thunder in the championship match.  Jack Schiro was a winner over IWU and Wheaton (Ill.) at number-two singles, as was Sergio Lopez (Jr., Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico) at number-three singles.  Dave Sands won over Illinois Wesleyan at number-four singles before losing to Wheaton (Ill.).  Phil Hamood (graduated-senior, Goshen, Ind. /Middlebury-Northridge, 15-9) won both matches at number-five singles. as did J.T. Delk (So., Wheaton, Ill./North, 17-7) at number-six singles.  The Red Men’s number-one doubles team of Yunes and Lopez (19-4) was a winner over both the Titans and the Thunder.

2008 Season Preview

Carthage coach Brady Lindsley (186-66, 10 years) returns five-of-seven letterwinners and four of his top-six singles players from last year’s 18-6 CCIW-championship team.  Lost to graduation are second-team All-CCIW honoree Dave Sands (18-8) and Phil Hamood (15-9).  Returning are first-team All-CCIW honorees Miguel Yunes (21-6), Sergio Lopez (21-5) and Jack Schiro (14-8), along with J.T. Delk (17-7).