ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – North Central defeated Augustana 6-3 in a key College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin men's tennis match on Saturday, April 17 at the Lower Tennis Courts. The Cardinals grabbed a 2-1 lead after doubles and then won four of the six singles matches to secure the victory.
 
Augustana's number three team of senior Alvaro Leal (Maristas Valencia; Valencia, Spain) and Eliot St. Paul (Ecole Diagonal) defeated Justin Howes and Morgan Red 8-4 to provide the Vikings their lone point in doubles. The number one team of seniors Peter Alex (Hinsdale South HS, Darien, Ill.) and Caio DeRezende (Colegio Itoca, Sao Paulo, Brazil) fell 8-2 to Andy Hinch and Guillermo Gonzalez. At number two, juniors Leonardo Panosso (La Sale Caxias; Caxias Do Sul, Brazil) and Kyle Boudreau (Antioch HS, Antioch, Ill.) lost 8-4 to Ramon Vilarroig and Javier Suarez.
 
DeRezende beat Suarez 7-6; 6-3 at number one--the 100th victory of his career--and Alex defeated Gonzalez 6-1; 6-3 at number two. Those would be the only points the Vikings would gain in singles.
 
Three of the four North Central singles victories came in three sets. Leal fell 4-6; 6-3; 2-6 to Vilarroig at number three while St. Paul lost 5-7; 6-4; 0-6 at number five to Red. The sixth singles match saw the Cardinals Steven Mears defeat Augustana's Justin Cassens (Emerald Ridge HS, Puyallup, Wash.) 6-1; 6-7; 6-0. Panosso fell at number four to Hinch 4-6; 3-6.
 
Augustana is back in action on Sunday, April 18 with a non-conference match against Dubuque at 9:00 a.m. at the Lower Campus Courts. The Vikings are now 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW.