ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Fresh off winning the program's third straight CCIW championship, Coach Jon Miedema's Augustana men's tennis team will open NCAA Division III Tournament play on Friday, May 14 versus Grinnell. The Vikings and Pioneers are scheduled to square off at 10:00 a.m. at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Friday's winner will advance to play host Washington University on Saturday, May 15 at 1:00 p.m.
 
Augustana, 12-6 on the year, is led by senior Caio de Rezende (Colegio Itoca, Sao Paulo, Brazil), the 2021 CCIW Player of the Year. Miedema's number one singles player is 14-3 on the season and his straight-set win this past Saturday clinched the Vikings' 5-4 victory over North Central for the CCIW title.
 
Winner of 17 consecutive Midwest Conference championships and 164 straight league dual meets, Grinnell enters NCAA action with a 9-0 record this year. The Pioneers have lost just two sets—and no matches—in rolling to those nine wins.
 
Grinnell holds a 16-7 edge in the all-time series, but Augustana won the last meeting, 5-4 at the Quad City Tennis Club on March 30, 2019. Peter Alex's (Hinsdale South HS, Darien, Ill.) straight-set win at fourth singles clinched the Viking victory.