Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
LAKE BLUFF, Ill. (Feb. 8, 2026) – Men's tennis interim coach Joey Leto got his first win at the helm of the program Sunday as North Central defeated Lake Forest College 5-2.
The contest came down to the final two singles matchups of the afternoon, which Jack Briggs and Andres Valverde Gonzalez won to create the final bit of separation between the two programs.
In doubles, North Central (1-1) claimed the first matchup between Briggs and David Vilarroig Martinez and Lake Forest's Tim Pasea and Alex Chin in dominant fashion, sweeping it 6-0. Lake Forest (2-1) took the next two doubles matches 6-4 in each to take the doubles point and to jump out to an early 1-0 match lead.
North Central put together a super effort in singles. Henry Ros bounced back from yesterday's losses to defeat his opponent 6-0, 6-1. Rafael Lessa took his match in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, while Ignacio Hernandez Ruiz came back from down 5-4 in the first to win it 7-5, and would go on to win the second set 6-3 after winning four of the last five games over Rodrigo Cunha of Lake Forest.
The contest between both schools' number ones was one you had to see to believe. North Central's Wottgen was matched up with Felipe Moraes of Lake Forest. Wottgen and Moraes traded blows, with each player breaking serve once, fighting to a 6-6 tie. Moraes took the tiebreaker 7-4 despite Wottgen's late comeback effort. In the second set, Wottgen returned the favor, dominating his way to a 6-0 set win to force a tiebreaker. The two players traded points to an 8-8 tie, but Moraes rattled off two consecutive points to claim the third set and the overall point for the Foresters.
Lake Forest wouldn't score another point. Leading 3-2 heading into the last two matches, North Central needed to win just one of the two to clinch Leto's first win of his collegiate coaching career.
Valverde Gonzalez led the first set 5-4, then trailed it 6-5 after his serve was broken by Zeke Bisharat. But Valverde Gonzalez remained steady, and tied the set at six and would go on to win the set on a tiebreaker 9-7. He would go on to dominate the next set 6-2, to claim the point and the match for North Central.
Briggs added on another point for good measure after Valverde Gonzalez's match-clinching win. Briggs won the first set of his match on a tiebreaker and went on to win the second set in an extra game 7-5 to give the Cardinals the win over the Foresters 5-2.
The five points earned by the Cardinals on Sunday were the first points conceded by Lake Forest this season, which had won its first two duals by a combined score of 14-0. It was also the Forester's first loss of its duals schedule.
Leto and the Cardinals have an extended break until their next match, as they take on Wabash College on the road on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m.
