Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (March 21, 2026) – Playing in its second match in less than 24 hours, the North Central men's tennis program opened its conference schedule with a 5-2 victory over Carthage College on Saturday evening, its third consecutive dual victory. The win marked the start of the first winning streak of Coach Joey Leto's tenure.
Henry Ros won both of his matches at the Naperville Tennis Club, improving to 3-1 on the weekend.
The doubles point came down to the wire. Ros and Andres Valverde Gonzalez won their match in the top doubles pairing 7-5, while Rafael Lessa and Philipp Wottgen fell in their match in the second pairing 6-1.
The point rested in the hands of Matt Crossland and David Vilarroig Martinez. They scratched their way to a 6-4 victory, clinching the doubles point for the Cardinals.
After winning five singles matches last night, the Cardinals took four of the six tonight. Ros claimed the first singles victory in the dual for North Central, cruising to a 6-2, 6-4 win over his opponent in the second spot in the lineup.
Rafael Lessa won his match in the number four spot in three sets. Lessa was able to grind out a 7-6 win in the opening set, taking the tiebreaker 7-4. He dropped the second set 6-4, but bounced back in the third, winning 6-4 for North Central's third point of the dual.
Ignacio Hernandez Ruiz and Vilarroig Martinez clinched the fourth and fifth points for the Cardinals. Hernandez Ruiz won in straight sets, conceding only three games along the way, winning by the final score 6-1, 6-2.
Vilarroig Martinez needed three sets to decide his match. He won the opening set 6-4 before losing the second on a 7-6 on a 7-3 tiebreaker. The win was his fourth win on the weekend, going 2-0 in doubles and 2-0 in singles, giving him a spotless 4-0 record.
Carthage, which finished second behind the Cardinals last season, was among the favorites to win the regular-season crown this year. The win, which was the first CCIW victory in Leto's career, tied the Cardinals for first with Millikin University, which won its first conference contest against Elmhurst University.
The Cardinals are back in action a week from tonight, taking on the University of California, Santa Cruz in a non-conference dual on Saturday before continuing their conference schedule on Sunday against fellow first-place team Millikin.
