Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's tennis team found itself in the peculiar position of playing a match on its own home court as the designated visitors on Saturday night, as the Thunder faced off against North Central College in a fixture that was rearranged multiple times due to court availability and scheduling restrictions. But the two sides were finally able to meet in their last match of the regular season slate, and the Cardinals earned a 6-1 victory that saw them clinch a share of the conference's regular season title and secure the #1 seed in next week's CCIW Tournament. Wheaton ends the regular season with an overall mark of 9-9 and a record of 4-3 in conference matches, knowing that it will be the four seed in the upcoming conference tournament in Rock Island. Tonight's contest also served as Senior Night for the Thunder program, and Wheaton's two graduating players, Tim Steiner and Jacob Williams (pictured below at right), were honored along with their families following the match's conclusion.

The Cardinals swept the doubles fixtures on Saturday evening to claim the first point of the match, but not without solid resistance from the Thunder lineup, as the #2 and #3 matches were both decided by just two games. 

North Central enjoyed a straightforward series of results in the singles competitions, winning five of the six matches in two sets. But freshman Toby Schmidt helped Wheaton avoid the shutout with a gutsy comeback win at #6 singles, shaking off a first-frame defeat to win the second set, 6-4, and taking the subsequent tiebreaker game at a 10-6 outcome to earn his first collegiate singles victory in memorable fashion.

The Thunder now turn their focus to the CCIW Championship. This year's tournament is being hosted by Augustana College and will start at the quarterfinal stage on Thursday, May 1st. Wheaton will take on the Carroll Pioneers in the first round, and if the Thunder win that match, another meeting with North Central just six days after this one is likely.