Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder men's tennis team defeated Carthage 5-1 on Friday morning in the Semifinals of the CCIW Tournament. Today's match was moved from the outdoor courts at Berens Park in Elmhurst to the indoor courts at the Wheaton Sports Center due to rain and wet conditions.

Wheaton took an early 2-1 lead against Carthage thanks to a pair of victories in doubles action. Ryan Kreis and Josh Ward earned a 9-7 victory at number-one doubles and Derek Mumaw teamed with David Buusma for an 8-6 victory at number-three doubles.

Kreis earned a 6-1, 7-6 victory against Carthage's Alex Boomgarden at number-one singles. Ward earned a 6-0, 6-2 win at number-three singles against Pawel Jaworski of Carthage and freshman Matt Steinder picked up a 6-1, 6-2 victory at number-four singles versus Chris Conley.

Third-seeded Wheaton's 5-1 victory today against the second-seeded Red Men advances the Thunder to the CCIW Championship Final on Saturday against Elmhurst. Top seed Elmhurst advanced this morning with a 5-2 win against fourth-seeded Augustana in the day's other semifinal.Saturday's CCIW Championship Final will be held at 10 a.m. on the campus of Elmhurst College. PLEASE NOTE: If weather makes conditions at the outdoor courts at Elmhurst College unplayable on Saturday the Tournnament will be moved to Wheaton Sports Center.

The winner of Saturday's CCIW Men's Tennis Championship Final will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship, which begins next week.

PLEASE NOTE: The location and start time of Saturday's CCIW Men's Tennis Championship Final is to be announced due to weather

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WHEATON COLLEGE 5, CARTHAGE COLLEGE 1
Singles competition
1. Kreis, Ryan (WHEATON) def. Boomgarden, Alex (CARTHAGE) 6-1, 7-6
2. Jump, Ryan (CARTHAGE) vs. Ancona, Justin (WHEATON) 2-6, 1-6, 2-4, unfinished
3. Ward, Josh (WHEATON) def. Jaworski, Pawel (CARTHAGE) 6-0, 6-2
4. Steiner, Matt (WHEATON) def. Conley, Chris (CARTHAGE) 6-1, 6-2
5. O'Connell, Tony (CARTHAGE) vs. Buursma, David (WHEATON) 4-4, unfinished
6. Trump, Andrew (WHEATON) vs. Ferruzzi, Alex (CARTHAGE) no result
Doubles competition
1. Kreis, Ryan/Ward, Josh (WHEATON) def. Jaworski, Pawel/Conley, Chris (CARTHAGE) 9-7
2. Boomgarden, Alex/Jump, Ryan (CARTHAGE) def. Ancona, Justin/Steiner, Matt (WHEATON) 9-8
3. Mumaw, Derek/Buursma, David (WHEATON) def. Ferruzzi, Alex/O'Connell, Tony (CARTHAGE) 8-6