ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Taking advantage of one of the first nice days of spring the Augustana men's tennis team continued its winning ways on Saturday, April 6 with a pair of victories at the Lower Campus Courts. The Vikings defeated St. Francis 7-2 in a non-conference battle in the morning and then dispatched of North Central 9-0 in the night cap. The North Central match was the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin opener for head coach Jon Miedema's team.
 
Augustana is now 15-4 overall and the Vikings have won six straight matches since a 7-2 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater on March 17. Miedema's crew is also ranked 11^th in the ITA/Oracle NCAA Division III rankings of teams in the Central Division.
 
The next match for Augustana will April 10 at nationally ranked University of Chicago.
 
AUGUSTANA 7, ST. FRANCIS 2
 
Augustana won five of six singles matches to hold off St. Francis on Saturday, April 6 on the Lower Campus Courts. The Vikings got wins at number one and three doubles to take a 2-1 lead heading into singles and then won five singles matches in straight sets.
 
The number one doubles team of sophomores Sriram Sugumaran (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and Peter Alex (Hinsdale South HS, Darien, Ill.) posted a hard-fought 8-7 win over the St. Francis team of Ian Millan Vetalehin and Avilash Mishra. The Vikings number three doubles unit of junior Scott Daluga (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) and freshman Kyle Boudreau (Antioch HS, Antioch, Ill.) won 8-4 over Fernando Turiel and Martin Royas del Sol.
 
At number two doubles the Vikings team of freshman Leonardo Panosso (La sal Caxias; Caxias do Sul, Brazil) and sophomore Rodrigo Medeiros (Colegio Reino; Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) dropped a tough 8-7 decision to Michael Hesler and Miguel Royas del Sol.
 
During the singles phase of the match the Vikings won at the top four spots. Sophomore Caio de Rezende (Colegio Itoca; Sao Paulo, Brazil) defeated Millan Vetalehin 6-3; 6-0 and sophomore Alvaro Leal (Maristas Valencia; Valencia, Spain) took care of Mishra 6-3; 6-3 at number two.
 
Sugumaran beat Miguel Royas del Sol 6-3; 6-1 at number three and Alex handled Hesler 6-3; 6-1 at number four. Senior Jack Morkin (University HS, Bloomington, Ill.) defeated Antonio Sanmartin 6-1; 6-2 at number six.
 
The lone loss in singles for Augustana came at number five where Guilherme Calixto (Calegria; Presidente Prudente, Sao Paulo, Brazil) dropped a 3-6; 7-6; 9-10 decision to Turial.
 
AUGUSTANA 9, NORTH CENTRAL 0
 
Despite the fact that Miedema had to shuffle his lineup a bit at the last minute the Vikings didn't miss a beat in dispatching of North Central 9-0 in CCIW action. The Cardinals came into the match with a glossy 13-3 record and were 1-0 in league play but Augustana jumped in front 3-0 after doubles and were never headed.
 
Sugumaran and Alex rolled at number one doubles, beating Victor Krueger and Justin Howes 8-2 while Leal and Panosso beat Tyler Haizel and Andy Hinch 8-2 at number two. The Vikings number three team in this match was de Rezende and Medeiros and they prevailed 8-4 over Tyler Buddell and Lucas Pindak.
 
When the scene switched to singles, Miedema was without the services of both Sugumaran and Morkin, who had been regulars in the lineup.
 
De Rezende defeated Krueger at number one 6-0; 6-0 and Leal beat Bussell 6-1; 6-0 at number two. Alex moved into Sugumaran's number three spot and defeated Haizel 6-1; 6-1. Calixto defeated Howes 6-3; 6-4 at number four.
 
Panosso had a battle at number five with Hinch before prevailing 2-6; 6-0; 10-3 while Medeiros moved into Morkin's number six slot and beat Pindak 7-5; 6-2.