Decatur, Ill. -- Beginning a two-match, two-day stay in central Illinois this afternoon, the Thunder men's tennis team traveled south to face the Millikin Big Blue in a CCIW contest. Wheaton cruised past Millikin by a 7-2 margin to return to the win column in conference play and improve to 13-6 overall in 2024.

The visitors were handed an immediate boost when the home side was forced to default three of today's fixtures due to a shortage of players. Millikin picked up a point from a tiebreak victory at #1 doubles, but Joey Geisz' and Jacob Williams' smooth 8-1 win in the second position meant that the Thunder needed just one singles result to clinch the match victory.

Wheaton claimed three of the four active singles contests on Friday. Jack Booker sailed to a 6-2 win in the first set of his #1 battle but had to dig deep after losing the second frame and eventually secured a hard-fought 11-9 tiebreak win to earn another point for Wheaton. A similar story unfolded for Evan Walther at #3 singles, as the freshman also registered a competitive 11-9 third frame victory after splitting the first two sets. Andrew Jang's victory at #4 singles was the most straightforward result for the Thunder, with the rookie powering his way to a decisive 6-1, 6-1 match win.

The Thunder are right back on the courts tomorrow afternoon when the team faces Illinois Wesleyan in its regular season finale. Wheaton will look to move above .500 in CCIW play when the two sides meet at 3 PM in Bloomington.