2006 CCIW Women's Tennis Championship
Evergreen Racquet Club
Oct. 6-7, Bloomington, Ill.
Hosted by Illinois Wesleyan
Wheaton Captures CCIW Title in Women's Tennis (10/7/06)
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The 2006 CCIW Women’s Tennis Championships came down to the final match of the tournament at No. 1 doubles Saturday. With both Carthage and Wheaton tied for the team lead, the Wheaton duo of Jordan Hook and Karly Olson topped Carthage’s Amanda Sta. Romana and Elizca Buys (3-6, 6-4, 10-5) to win the Thunder’s second straight conference title and 12th in school history.
Wheaton won the team title with a score of 69, while Carthage placed second with 66 points respectively. Illinois Wesleyan (35), Augustana (28), Elmhurst (15), Millikin (6) and North Central (6) rounded out the scoring for the championship.
By placing in the top four, Wheaton, Carthage, Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana advanced to the CCIW Automatic Qualifier Tournament to be held next April, which is a four-team tournament with the winner earning the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA’s.
Wheaton took home five individual titles on the day, including No. 1, 5 and 6 singles, as well as No. 3 doubles and the aforementioned No. 1 doubles. Carthage won four individual titles, including No. 2, 3 and 4 singles, as well as No. 2 doubles. Hook, by virtue of winning the No. 1 singles title over Sta. Romana (6-1, 6-0), took home player of the year honors.
At No. 2 singles, Buys topped Wheaton’s Karly Olson 6-4, 7-6 (13-11), while at No. 3 singles, Kristin Minkowski of Carthage beat Shannon Hale of Wheaton 6-3, 6-1. The No. 4 singles match saw Gina Klein of Carthage beat Brooke Parrish of Wheaton 6-2, 6-1, while at No. 5 singles, Brittney Dunn of Wheaton beat Taylor Gustafson of Carthage 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. At No. 6 singles, Wheaton’s Jill Casserly topped Carthage’s Brooke Braastad 6-1, 6-2.
In the No. 2 doubles match, Minkowski and Klein beat Parrish and Kayli Edwards 6-1, 6-1, while Hale and Dunn took home the title at No. 3 doubles with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 win over Gustafson and Braastad.
2006 CCIW Women's Tennis Championship Preview (9/28/06)
NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Wheaton ended Carthage’s three-year run of winning the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Women’s Tennis Championship last season, and the 2006 championships on Oct. 6-7 at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Ill., will once again see both the Thunder and the Lady Reds competing for the top spot.
Wheaton, led by head coach Jane Nelson, has won 11 conference titles since the CCIW began sponsoring women’s tennis in 1986. Carthage, led by head coach Brady Lindsley, has won four conference titles, three under the direction of Lindsley. Wheaton narrowly edged Carthage during the regular season in a 5-4 victory on Sept. 7.
While the women’s tennis championships have not changed its format, there was a change to what the teams will do in the spring. The top four teams from the fall championships will play in a four-team, play-in tournament April 27-28 to determine which team will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be held May 15-20, 2007 in Fredericksburg, Va.
Wheaton took home six of the nine individual titles at last season’s championships, including all-American Jordan Hook, who won at No. 2 singles last season. Hook won four of her matches at the Division III Wilson/ITA Midwest Region Championships two weeks ago. Senior and 2005 No. 3 singles champion Karly Olson, as well as 2005 No. 5 singles champion Shannon Hale, a junior, have also helped lead the Thunder to another successful season. Hale was champion with the graduated Leah Moberg at No. 3 doubles, while Olson teamed up with Brooke Parrish for the No. 2 doubles championship in 2005.
The Carthage tennis program has been a success story on both the men’s and women’s side under the direction of Lindsley. The Lady Reds will enter the tournament with a veteran team eager to take back the title from Wheaton. Amanda Sta. Romana at No. 1 singles and Elizca Buys at No. 2 singles teamed up last season to win the No. 1 doubles title. In addition to Sta. Romana and Buys, 2005 No. 4 singles champion Kristin Minkowski also returns to the Lady Reds.
Illinois Wesleyan took third place at the championships last season and our led by Alison Heim, Sandy Tobik and Kristina Sawyer at No. 1, 2 and 3 singles respectively.
2005 fourth place finisher Augustana and new head coach Adam Strand are heading into the championships with momentum after winning its last two regular season conference matches. Augustana defeated Elmhurst 7-2 on September 24 and North Central 9-0 on September 23. Megan DeShon and Tricia Crawford lead the way for the Vikings at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, as well as No. 1 doubles respectively.
North Central, Elmhurst and Millikin rounded out the team standings from the 2005 championships. Junior Kelly Hatch leads North Central at No. 1 singles, while Elmhurst will look to Jeanne Mollner, Emmy Odean and Carolyn Eck at the top three singles spots. Millikin is led by Audrey Spelde and Lindsey Earhart in the top two singles and No. 1 doubles spot.
