ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A late surge in singles helped Augustana overcome an early Wheaton lead and let the Vikings come from behind to defeat the Thunder 5-4 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin action on Wednesday, April 24. The action at the Lower Campus Courts finally ended when sophomore Sriram Sugumaran (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) defeated Josh Cheng 6-4; 6-2 at number two singles.
 
The win by Sugumaran allowed the Vikings, ranked 11^th in the latest NCAA Division III Central Region poll, to move to 20-5 overall and 6-0 CCIW action.
 
Wheaton won the first two doubles matches before Augustana's number one team of sophomores Peter Alex (Hinsdale South HS, Darien, Ill.) and Sugumaran defeated Cheng and Andrew Bristol 8-6. The Vikings fell at numbers two and three before Alex and Sugumaran picked up a much needed point.
 
Sophomore Rodrigo Medeiros (Reino; Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and freshman Leonardo Panosso (La sale Caxias; Caxias Do Sul, Brazil) fell 8-5 to Anderson Park and Alexander Winters at number two. The Vikings number three team of senior Jack Morkin (University HS, Bloomington, Ill.) and sophomore Caio DeRezende (Colegio Itoca; Sao Paulo, Brazil) dropped an 8-3 decision to Jack Guenther and Jacob Panjwani.
 
Heading into singles Alex tied the match at 2-2 with a 6-1; 6-0 win over Panjwani at number three but the Thunder reclaimed the lead 3-2 when Guenther defeated Panosso 6-2; 6-3 at number six.
 
Sophomore Calixto Guilherme (Calegria; Presidente Prudente, Sao Paulo, Brazil) tied things at 3-3 with a 6-1; 6-2 victory over Winters at number four and Morkin put Augustana in the lead 4-3 with a 6-3; 6-2 victory at number five.
 
Park tied the match for the visitors with a 6-4; 6-0 win over DeRezende at number one and that set up Sugumaran's heroics at number two singles.
 
Augustana will host Elmhurst on Thursday, April 25 at 4:00 p.m. at the Lower Campus Courts.