Box Score DECATUR, Ill. - The Augustana Vikings men's tennis team took part in their first contest of the 2021-22 season over the weekend, seeing over ten finishes within the top five throughout both singles and doubles competition.

Freshman Arthur Hermange placed second in the top singles flight of the weekend as he squared off against some of the best players the conference has to offer. Hermange won his first two matches in consecutive sets before dropping a competitive match to North Central's Ramon Vilarroig in the title match. Ben Hart also made some noise in the No. 1 singles bracket, placing sixth after going 1-1 in his opening matches. He later fell in the 5th place match.

In No. 2 singles, Leonardo Panosso won back-to-back contests after falling in the opening round in three sets. He was able to bounce back and defeat opponents from Millikin and Illinois Wesleyan to secure the top five placement. 

The Vikings saw two top five finishes in the No. 3 singles flight, led by Deepak Vayara, who came back from a second set defeat in round two to win the tiebreaker and advance to the championship match. He was then defeated by Carthage's Yanozie Amadike by a score of 6-3, 6-3 to give him a second-place standing in the tournament. Also in No. 3 singles, Eliot Saint-Paul overcame an opening round loss to eventually take fifth, knocking off his opponent in three sets. Saint-Paul dropped the first by a score of 6-3 before winning the final two to finish his weekend with a 2-1 record.

Kyle Boudreau added to the team's success in the No. 5 bracket, winning his first two matches to advance to the title. He later fell in a close two-set battle at 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Rounding out the singles play for the Vikings in the top five were Justin Cassens (5th) in No. 4, Jesse Dyer (5th) in No. 5, and David Russ (5th) in No. 6. 

Augie also saw some successful performances on the doubles side, beginning with Hermange and Panosso in the No. 1 flight. The tandem won their first match of the day to keep them on the winner's side of the bracket, but fell in their final two contests to earn them fourth place overall. Vayara and Boudrea took home fifth in No. 2 doubles after dropping their opening matchup. The duo defeated opponents from Illinois Wesleyan in back-to-back matches to give them a 2-1 record for the weekend. Saint-Paul and Dyer were victorious in the third-place battle in No. 3 doubles, winning by a score of 8-4 over Millikin.

The Augie men will compete in one more tournament this fall at the ITA Regional Tournament beginning on October 1st. The three-day event will run Friday through Sunday.