DECATUR, Ill. – Augustana clinched a second straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Men's Tennis Championship on Saturday, May 4 with a convincing 5-1 win over Wheaton in the title match. After breaking a 33 year old title draught last spring, head coach Jon Miedema's team made it two in a row and captured the 24^th men's tennis championship in school history. Not only did the Vikings win the CCIW title but also grabbed the NCAA Division III National Tournament berth that goes to the winner of the league championship.
 
One of the key moments of the match may have occurred during a record setting match in doubles. The Vikings number one team of sophomores Peter Alex (Hinsdale South HS, Darien, Ill.) and Sriram Sugumaran (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) were last doubles team on the court. Each team had won one doubles match and Alex and Sugumaran were tied 6-6 with Andrew Bristol and Josh Cheng. Alex held serve to put Augustana up 7-6 and then the Vikings broke the Thunder serve to win 8-6.
 
That victory had twofold significance because it put the Vikings up 2-1 and gave Miedema's crew momentum heading into the singles portion but it also established a new school record. With the win Alex and Sugumaran pushed their doubles record to 21-11 on the year and that broke the single season mark of 20 (20-9) set by Sam Totten and Eric Pohl in 2015-16.
 
The Vikings got a crucial win at number three doubles when sophomore Caio DeRezende (Colegio Itoca; Sao Paulo, Brazil) and senior Jack Morkin (University HS, Bloomington, Ill.) beat Jack Guenther and Jacob Panjwani 8-4. Augustana's number two team of freshman Leonardo Panosso (La sale Caxias; Caxias Do Sul, Brazil) and sophomore Alvaro Leal (Maristas Valencia; Valencia, Spain) fell 8-1 to Dane Paulsen and Alexander Winters.
 
Holding onto a 2-1 lead moving into singles, the Vikings didn't slow down. Leal was the first to notch a victory as he defeated Cheng 6-3; 6-1 at number two. Morkin, who was a key figure in Augustana's march to the title, picked up a 6-1; 6-3 win over Guenther at number six.
 
Alex provided the clinching win with a 6-1; 6-3 victory over Winters at number four. He also moved within one win of tying current assistant coach Jack Cullen's single season school record of 23 wins set in 2009. Alex is now 22-4 on the year.
 
DeRezende and Wheaton's Anderson Park were locked into a terrific battle at number one where DeRezende won the first set 7-5 and the two were tied 1-1 when the match ended. Sugumaran was ahead Panjwani 6-0; 5-2 when Alex' victory ended the match. At number five sophomore Guilherme Calixto (Calegria; Presidente Prudente, Sao Paulo, Brazil) had his hands full with Bristol and was trailing 1-6; 1-5 when the match ended.
 
Augustana, ranked 11^th in the latest NCAA Division III Central Region Poll, will find out early in the week where it will go for the NCAA Tournament. Last year the Vikings beat John Carroll in the first round before falling to Chicago. Miedema's team is now 24-6 overall and in the process established a new school record for wins, breaking the mark of the 2009-10 team that finished the year 22-11.