It was quite the road trip on Sunday, March 29 for the Augustana men's tennis team. The Vikings played two matches in two different cities in Michigan and came away with split results. Head coach Jon Miedema's team lost 8-1 to a Kalamazoo team that was ranked 10^th in the region in the first match of the day at the Markin Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
 
After that the Vikings hopped into the van and drove 45 minutes to Albion, Michigan where Albion was waiting. Augustana handled the Britons 8-1 to move to 8-7 on the season.
 
Miedema's team will open the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin season on Wednesday, April 8 with a match against Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Illinois.
 
KALAMAZOO 8, AUGUSTANA 1
 
The Vikings dropped three tough doubles matches to fall behind 3-0 heading into the singles portion of the match. Kalamazoo, ranked 10^th in the region, eventually scored an 8-1 victory over Augustana.
 
At number one the freshman team of Samuel Totten (University HS, Normal, Ill.) and Eric Pohl (Fremd HS, Palatine, Ill.) dropped a 9-8 decision to Branden Metzler and Robert Hudson.
 
The number two team of senior Lawrence Palmer (Schiller International School, El Prat de Llobregat, Spain) and junior Harald Olsson (Hersby Gymnasium, Stockholm, Sweden) fell to Elan Dantus and David DeSimone 8-5. Junior Austin Schoeck (Alleman Catholic HS, Rock Island, Ill.) and sophomore Jonathon Elsey (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) fell to Spencer Navarre and Eric DeWitt 9-7 at number three.
 
Pohl came up with the lone victory in the match for the Vikings with a 6-3; 6-7; 10-7 win over Hudson at number three.
 
Palmer dropped a 2-6; 4-6 decision to Metzler at number one and Totten fell to DeSimone, whose older brother Adam was a standout for Augustana and graduated in 2012, 0-6; 2-6.
 
Junior Patrick Lenz (Villanova Prep, Ojai, Calif.) fell to De Witt 4-6; 2-6 at number four and Schoeck lost 2-6; 3-6 to Navarre at number five. Olsson lost 2-6; 0-6 to Dantus at number six.
 
AUGUSTANA 8, ALBION 1
 
The Vikings wasted no time in bouncing back from the loss to Kalamazoo. After a drive to Albion, Miedema's team dusted off the Britons 8-1 to move to 8-7 on the season.
 
The stage was set in doubles where Augustana won three fairly close matches. Pohl and Totten beat Ross Kynast and Zach McKenzie 8-6 at number one and Olsson and Schoeck picked up an 8-5 win over Troy Pozolo and Rahul Raj at number two. The number three team of Elsey and Lenz beat Will Pearl and Andrew Zimmer 8-6.
 
Totten dropped a 3-6; 3-6 decision to Kynast at number one for the only Augustana defeat in this match.
 
Pohl beat McKenzie 6-1; 6-4 at number two and Lenz moved up to number three and defeated Raj 6-1; 6-0. Schoeck beat Pozolo 6-0; 6-4 at number four and Olsson handled Pearl 6-3; 6-3 at number five. Elsey defeated Zimmer 6-0; 6-2 at number six.