SANFORD, Fla. - The Haverford College men's tennis team (1-3) commenced its 2024 spring break trip to Central Florida with a clash against North Central College on a sunny Monday morning, succumbing to the Cardinals (9-3) in a 6-3 final.

As the doubles play unfolded in the Florida sunshine, North Central asserted some early strength, securing all three doubles points. The duo of Stefan Johnson and Marko Arboleda faced an 8-3 defeat against the pairing of Wyatt Crowell and Guillermo Gonzalez. Simultaneously, James Mckenzie and Kirin Eicher engaged in a tight battle with Matthew Sengphommachanh and Ramon Vilarroig, ultimately falling by an 8-6 final. The third doubles match to conclude came at the third flight, where Adam Chow and Justin Minerva stumbled against Daniel Estanislao and Rafael Lessa, succumbing 8-6.

With little margin for error entering the singles portion of the morning, Haverford notched a point on the scoresheet as Aiden Kim swiftly dispatched Justin Penados in a 6-0, 6-3 sweep. Vilarroig and Johnson later faced off at the top flight, with Johnson retiring due to injury after a 6-4 first set loss, allowing North Central to secure its fourth point.

Wyatt Crowell sealed the victory for North Central with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Minerva, while Rafael Lessa secured the sixth and final point by defeating Chait Krishna with a 6-1, 7-5 final.

Haverford claimed its final two match wins from Arboleda at the second flight, dispatching Sengphommachanh with a 7-5, 6-3 score, while Niki Lavu secured a win at the sixth flight over Henry Ros (6-4, 6-2).

Haverford now anticipates two more big matchups tomorrow, starting the day against Birmingham Southern at Woodlake Park in Lakeland, Fla. (9 a.m.), before a late afternoon encounter with Ithaca at Lake Eva Tennis Center in Haines City, Fla (4 p.m.)