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ITA Central Region Bracket

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Sept. 22, 2024) - Sending four players to take on the best players in the Central Region, the North Central College men's tennis team competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Regional Tournament, highlighted by a quarterfinal appearance from Ramon Vilarroig Martinez and Matthew Sengphommachanh.

In doubles action, Vilarroig Martinez and Sengphommachanh teamed up as the No. 4 seed to beat their Ohio Wesleyan University counterpart, 8-0 in the round of 64. After a tight 8-6 win against Gabriel Luna and Nicholas Navarro (Augustana), the Cardinal duo rolled to an 8-2 win over Jacob Williams and Time Steiner of Wheaton College, advancing to the quarterfinals. In a back-and-forth match, the No. 9 seeded tandem from the University of Chicago, Emil Grantcharov and Derek Hsieh earned an 8-7 (7-1) win.

Justin Penados and Rafael Lessa beat Dev Agrawal and Jackson Swopes (Earlham College), 8-1 to begin doubles competition. In the round of 32, the Cardinal tandem fell 8-1 to the No. 2 seeded Ethan Green and Kael Shalin Shah of Denison University. 

Entering the event as the No. 8 seed in singles, Vilarroig Martinez beat Navarro in the round of 64 before defeating No. 17 Adnan Aslusi (Kalamazoo College) 6-1, 6-3, advancing to the round of 16 for the second straight season. In that match, he lost 6-1, 6-0 to No. 14 Michael Choi (University of Chicago), ending his singles run.

Sengphommachanh earned a bye in the opening round of the competition. In the round of 64, he fell to Scott Yamamoto (WashU) 6-1, 6-1 to move into the consolation bracket. There, Sengphommachanh dropped a match to Martin Suarez of Anderson University to end his day.

Lessa battled to a 5-7, 6-2, 10-6 opening round victory over Thomas Schultz of Ohio Northern University. In the round of 64, Lessa fell to No. 2 Ajay Mahenthiran of Case Western Reserve. Penados also won an opening round match, beating William Horvath (Baldwin Wallace University) 6-0, 6-2 before falling in the round of 64.

North Central has concluded its fall calendar with the ITA Tournament. The Cardinals look towards the spring season as they take on the defending national champions in UChicago on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Naperville Tennis Club.

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