Chicago, Ill. - Playing on their home court, in front of their home crowd, the Illinois Tech women's tennis team took advantage of the rare opportunity by defeating St. Norbert 9-0 in the opening round of the NACC Tournament Monday night at the Illinois Tech Tennis Courts. With the win, the number three seed Scarlet Hawks advance to the semifinal round, where they will travel to face number two seed Concordia University Wisconsin Thursday, May 5th at 4pm. The Scarlet Hawks improved to 14-5 on the season. The Green Knights finished 3-10 on the season.

Having not played since April 9th, the Scarlet Hawks came out strong to open up doubles play, winning all three matches by 8-1 scores.

Singles play proved to be a little more challenging, as the Green Knights battled in the second sets of the number one and number five singles matches. Morgan Colbert eventually defeated St. Norbert's Nicole Pfotenhauer 6-0, 7-5 in the number one singles match. Allyson Trang overcame a 4-3 deficit in the second set of her number five singles match with Mallory Names, ultimately winning the match 6-1, 6-4. The Scarlet Hawks wound up sweeping singles play as well, with number two Natalie Hamill (6-2, 6-2), number three Kylie Hance (6-1, 6-1), number four Saumya Sukhthankar (6-2, 6-1) and number six Mouna Chahin (6-0, 6-0) all winning their matches.

The Scarlet Hawks played the match on campus, something they had not done all season. Normally the team plays their home matches at the XS Tennis Center, several blocks south of campus. However, Head Coach Kris Powell wanted scheduling certainty for the opening round of the tournament, and the home courts provided the best option. This provided the team with the unique experience of playing in front of a supportive home crowd, including many of their fellow students who had never seen the team play before. The setting provided a boost to the team, and gives them something to build on as they move on to the next round in the tournament.