BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It didn't take long for Augustana to move on in the opening round of the 2019 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Men's Tennis Championships. The Vikings defeated Carroll 5-0 in the first day of action on Thursday, May 2 in a match played at Evergreen Tennis Club in Bloomington, Illinois. The tournament is hosted by Millikin in Decatur, Illinois but bad weather and heavy rain has forced the use of venues outside the city of Decatur.
 
Location was hardly an issue as head coach Jon Miedema's top-seeded Vikings rolled past the Pioneers in impressive fashion. Augustana, now 22-6 on the season, is the defending CCIW champion and the Vikings are currently ranked 11^th in the latest NCAA Division III Central Region poll.
 
It all got started in doubles where Augustana swept all three matches. The number one team of sophomores Sriram Sugumaran (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and Peter Alex (Hinsdale South HS, Darien, Ill.) had quite a tussle with Carroll's number one team of Chayce Roecker and Joseph Harrison before prevailing 8-7. That win moved Sugumaran and Alex to within one victory of tying the existing school of 20 which is currently held by Sam Totten and Eric Pohl (2015-16) and Colin Arnold and Kevin Bayles (2013-14). Sugumaran and Alex are currently 19-11 on the year.
 
Senior Jack Morkin (University HS, Bloomington, Ill.) and sophomore Rodrigo Medeiros (Reino; Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) beat Ian Foster and Nick Bissegger 8-2 at number two. Junior Scott Daluga (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) and freshman Kyle Boudreau (Antioch HS, Antioch, Ill.) picked up an 8-0 shutout over Jordan Nowell and Chris Jensen at number three.
 
With a 3-0 lead the Vikings finished things quickly in singles with wins at number six and number four. At number six it was freshman Justin Cassens (Emerald Ridge HS, Puyallup, Wash.) beating Nowell 6-0; 6-0 while freshman Leonardo Panosso (Lasale Caxias; Caxias Do Sul, Brazil) beat Ryan Strupp 6-2; 6-0 at number four.
 
Medeiros was ahead of Bisseger 5-0 in the first set at number five and sophomore Guilherme Calixto (Calegria; Presidente Prudente, Sao Paulo, Brazil) led Foster 4-3 in the first at number three when the match ended. Sophomore Caio DeRezende (Colegio Itoca; Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Alex did not even get to start their respective matches at numbers one and two singles.
 
Augustana will play Carthage, the number five seed, on Friday, May 3 at 11:00 a.m. at Fairview Park in Decatur. The Red Men upset number four seed Millikin 5-1 on Thursday in a first round match and will bring a 14-9 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the CCIW into the match.