Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
ST. LOUIS, Mo. / LISLE, Ill. (Sept. 25, 2022) - Playing in their final events of the fall season, four members of the North Central College men's tennis team competed in the ITA Central Regional Championships while the rest of the team faced Wisconsin Lutheran College and the University of St. Francis (Ill.) on Sunday.
The tandem of Ramon Vilarroig Martinez and Guillermo Gonzalez Fernandez received a bye in the opening round before falling in a tight contest to Ben Onufrock and Corbin Ford of Covenant College, 8-6. Javier Suarez Balsera and Colten Way teamed up to take down Cole Phillips and Theodore Wolf of Millikin 8-5 before losing to the eighth-ranked doubles team in the 39-team bracket from Washington University of St. Louis, 8-2. In the backdraw, Suarez Baslera/Way beat two doubles teams from DePauw University before taking down a Wittenberg University tandem in the backdraw quarterfinals. They moved into the semifinals where the tournament was abandoned.
In singles play, Suarez Balsera began with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Ford before falling to James Hopper of Case Western Reserve. Vilarroig Martinez won the opening set 7-5 but lost the match to his WashU opponent. In the backdraw, Vilarroig Martinez advanced to the finals where the tournament was abandoned.
Sunday began with the Cardinals taking on Wisconsin Lutheran. Matthew Sengphommachanh and Daniel Estanislao earned an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles with Matt Crossland and Brayden Kopp notching an 8-2 win at No. 2. At third doubles, Dieter Gonzales and Douglas Blomquist won 8-2. The Cardinals rolled through singles action as they won No. 1-5 singles in two sets with Brian Gambuzza securing a hard-fought win at No. 6.
The afternoon match saw another doubles sweep for North Central as they held a 3-0 lead heading into singles play against St. Francis. Estanislao battled for a win at No. 1 singles with Sengphommachanh cruising to a win at No. 2. Kopp secured a three-set win at No. 3 while Crossland won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4. Securing the sweep was Daniel Urraca Mozos with a 6-1, 6-0 win and Gonzales at No. 6.
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