FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Grinnell Box Score
Endicott Box Score
Okla. Baptist Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. (Mar. 23, 2009)--The North Central College men's tennis squad competed in a series of dual matches over the weekend at various tennis venues scattered across the Orlando area, coming away with two wins and two losses for its efforts.

On Friday, the Cardinals fell 9-0 to regionally-ranked Grinnell College to open up the spring break trip. No. 1 singles player Sam Sweeney suffered his first defeat of the season, falling 7-5, 6-1 to Juan Carlos Perez. Sweeney entered the match with a 4-0 mark and was ranked 18th in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Rankings while Perez ranks fifth. The Pioneers entered the match ranked eighth in the Central Region.

North Central had mixed results on Saturday, edging out Endicott College (Mass.) 5-4, before falling to Oklahoma Baptist University of the NAIA by a score of 8-1. The team would rebound on Sunday with an 8-1 whipping of Knox College (Ill.).

Against Endicott, North Central needed to rally after dropping two of the three doubles matches to open up the dual. Sweeney and his partner Matt Boguslawski picked up the 8-3 win in No. 1 doubles, while the No. 2 team of Josh Clay and Eric McKee along with the No. 3 team of Andrew McKinley and Chris Bennorth, suffered narrow defeats, losing 9-7 and 8-6, respectively.

In singles, the Cardinals won the No. 1 through No. 4 matches, to pull away with the victory. Sweeney rebounded from his loss a day earlier, taking down the Gulls No. 1 player Josh Schoen 6-0, 6-4. Boguslawski netted the 6-4, 6-4, win in No. 2 action while in No. 3 singles, McKee needed to rally after dropping the first set to pull out the 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 victory. Clay was the Cardinals final singles victory, picking up the 7-6, 6-1 win in the No. 4 spot.

In the afternoon match against a gritty Oklahoma Baptist, Sweeney was the team's lone victor, needing three sets to come away with the 6-2, 4-6, 10-5 win over Sergej Babic in No. 1 singles. Robert Lodding took Mitch Frank to three sets before falling 7-5, 4-6, 10-4 in the No. 6 spot while in doubles, Sweeney and Boguslawski fell just short, losing 8-6 to the Bison's No. 1 tandem of Gustavo Schaefer and Bruno Scacalossi.

The Cardinals, now 4-4 overall, take today off before concluding their Florida excursion on Tuesday, facing both Luther College (Iowa) and Lawrence University (Wis.).