Bloomington, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's tennis team began its postseason slate on Friday afternoon, traveling to central Illinois for its first day at the 2026 CCIW Women's Tennis Championship. This year's competition is being hosted by North Park University at the Evergreen Racquet Club, and the Thunder entered the tournament as the #2 seed after earning a 7-1 record in regular season league play. Wheaton faced third-seeded Carthage College in today's semifinal round following the Firebirds' 4-0 sweep of North Park in Thursday's quarterfinal, and the Thunder secured a comfortable 4-1 victory today to punch their ticket to Saturday's championship match. Wheaton's overall record now stands at 15-5, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons that the program has won at least 15 matches.  

Carthage picked up a win at #1 doubles on Friday, but this ultimately did not count for anything, as the Thunder secured the first point of the match thanks to victories at the #2 and #3 positions. Janet Kondo and Ella Malone logged a smooth 6-2 win in their #2 doubles fixture, before Mia Luo and Carly O'Leary ensured Wheaton's 1-0 advantage on the scoreboard with a competitive 6-4 result.

With all postseason matches being halted once a decision is reached, the Thunder needed just three wins from the singles portion to confirm their abbreviated victory and advance to the tournament championship. Those three successes came courtesy of Madeline Gentry, Janet Kondo, and Sophie Dew. All three players captured their solo duels in straight sets, with Gentry winning 6-2, 6-4 atop the order, Kondo completing a personal sweep with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at #4, and Dew victorious in her debut CCIW Tournament match at a 6-4, 6-2 line at #5 singles. 

Today's result sets up the fourth Wheaton-North Central conference championship matchup in the past five years, with the Thunder looking to dethrone the four-time reigning champions and lift the CCIW Tournament trophy for the first time since 2019. The top-seeded Cardinals also registered a 4-1 semifinal win on Friday, cruising past Augustana to advance to another NCAA automatic qualifying decider. North Central edged Wheaton, 4-3, in the two sides' regular season meeting back in October, and the Thunder will be hoping to reverse recent postseason fortunes against their nationally-ranked neighbors. Saturday's title tilt is set for a 12 PM first serve in Bloomington.