Contact: Rachel Balinao, Graduate Assistant Athletics Communication, rabalinao@noctrl.edu
Bracket
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (Sept. 27, 2025) - To close out their fall season, the North Central College men's tennis team sent four student-athletes to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Central Regional Championships, highlighted by Rafael Lessa and Philipp Wottgen advancing to the consolation quarterfinals.
In singles play, Philipp Wottgen opened with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over a Kalamazoo College opponent in the round of 128 before falling to Denison's Shalin Kael Shah, 6-0, 6-0, in the round of 64.
Rafael Lessa picked up a first-round win, defeating College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) foe Ian Turnbull of Illinois Wesleyan University, 6-4, 6-3, before dropping a 7-5, 6-2 match to Matthew Liew of the University of Chicago.
Andres Valverde Gonzalez earned a 6-0, 6-4 decision over Anderson University's Ezekiel Bergen in his opener but was stopped in the round of 64 by Case Western Reserve's Jon Totorica, 6-0, 6-2.
Rounding out singles action, Henry Ros claimed a 6-2, 6-3 win over Anthony VanOyen from College of Wooster before being defeated by Washington University's Colin Scruggs, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
In doubles, Ros and Valverde Gonzalez dropped their first-round main draw match to George Ciuca and Bernado Aguiar of Lake Forest College, 8-6, before regrouping in the consolation bracket. After two byes, the duo defeated Trine University, 8-6, in the round of 16 but came up short in the quarterfinals against Denison's Jacob Patterson and Ganapathy Arya Kallambella, 8-5.
Lessa and Wottgen fell in the opening round of the main draw to Hope College's Alec Maynard and Cooper Nugent, 8-3, but responded with a strong run in the consolation bracket. Following two byes, the pair knocked out Otterbein's Nikita Kitaev and Jake Chilcote, 8-6, in the round of 16, and went on to defeat CCIW rivals Andrew Jang and Corin Tang of Wheaton College, 8-7 (7-3), in the consolation semi-finals.
The Cardinals will return to the courts on Feb. 6 when they open their spring season with a non-conference match up against Greenville University at Benet Academy Tennis Courts in Lisle, Ill.
