Contact: Alex Mielcarz, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, ajmielcarz@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (April 3, 2026) – The freshly ranked No. 34 North Central men's tennis team took care of business on Friday, outscoring its opponents 14-0 during a split College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin doubleheader, extending its win streak to seven consecutive duals. The Cardinals defeated Carroll University 7-0 in the morning match and defeated Elmhurst University 7-0 in the nightcap.
Over the two duals, the Cardinals did not lose a single match, going 18-0 on the day between singles and doubles play.
MATCH 1 vs. Carroll
In doubles, Henry Ros and Andres Valverde Gonzalez won their match 6-1, while the pairings of Jack Briggs and Philipp Wottgen and David Vilarroig Martinez and Matt Crossland won theirs by the same score, giving North Central an early 1-0 lead.
Wottgen got the first of his two singles wins of the day in the top spot, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Ros followed him with a straight sets victory of his own, 6-2, 6-1.
Valverde Gonzalez continued his streak of strong play, winning 6-3, 6-0 in his contest.
The lone set victory for the Pioneers came in the fourth singles match, as Rafael Lessa dropped the opening frame 7-6, but he bounced back to win the next two, doing so 6-4, 1-0 on a 10-8 tiebreaker.
Ignacio Hernandez Ruiz contributed a victory to the sweep, winning 6-0, 6-2, and Vilarroig Martinez finished the job, winning 6-1, 6-1.
MATCH 2 vs. Elmhurst
Elmhurst was unable to field a team of four student-athletes for the match, so the Blue Jays were forced to forfeit three contests. The Cardinals lost only two games in the entire dual, winning it 7-0.
The two doubles matches played were sweeps. Ros and Valverde Gonzalez won in the top spot, while Briggs and Wottgen won in the second. Crossland and Vilarroig Martinez won their match by default.
Wottgen won in singles 6-0, 6-0, as did Valverde Gonzalez and Lessa. Ros won his match as well, but had to work for it a little more, winning 6-2, 6-0.
Hernandez Ruiz and Vilarroig Martinez both got credited with wins in the fifth and sixth spots, respectively, both winning by default.
The two wins bolstered North Central's lead in the CCIW, as it is now a perfect 4-0 to start the conference season. After a 4-6 start to the spring portion of the campaign, the Cardinals have rattled off seven consecutive wins to now stand at 11-6, and are ranked at No. 34 in ITA's most recent poll.
The Cardinals finish their weekend tomorrow morning versus Illinois Wesleyan on the road at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
