The Augustana Vikings women's tennis team hung tough through a competitive fall and spring schedule, highlighted by avenging an early-season loss to Carthage to land them in the CCIW AQ tournament in late April.

Augie began the 2021-22 season with back-to-back conference home wins, defeating North Park and Illinois Wesleyan to start their new campaign both 2-0 overall and in the CCIW. A week later, the Vikings suffered their first loss in league play as they were defeated by the Carthage Firebirds on the road by a score of 5-4. The Vikings completed the tail end of four straight on the road with a 2-1 record, but fell in their final two matches in conference action to Wheaton and Millikin to give them a 4-4 CCIW mark on the season. They finished the regular season in fifth place and earned the No. 5 seed in the fall conference tournament.

A matchup with the No. 4 seeded Carthage came in round one, this time resulting in a 5-4 victory in favor of the Vikings to advance them to the semifinals. Augie capitalized on two positions that they were unable to see wins from in their first meeting, winning two of three doubles to give them the slight advantage heading into singles. With the match tied 4-4, Lauren Oda broke the time and clinched the match with a win at No. 4 singles. Augie fell in their final two matches in the CCIW Fall Championships, but their win over the Firebirds was enough to earn them a top four standing and a spot in the CCIW AQ Tournament.

After a long break throughout the winter, the Vikings resumed play in the spring in late February, beginning their non-conference schedule with a couple of matchups against high-level opponents. The Vikings dropped four straight to begin spring action, but broke that skid with a convincing win in South Carolina during their spring break trip, defeating Hollins by a score of 9-0. In the win, Augie allowed just two combined points in the three doubles matches and won 6-0, 6-0 in five of six singles contests.

Throughout the remainder of March and into late April, the Vikings closed out their non-conference slate, which included a home win in their final home outing of the season over Central College. Augustana was eventually defeated in the opening round of the CCIW automatic qualifying tournament, falling to eventual champion North Central.

Two members of the team were named to the CCIW All-Conference team. Lily Schoeck earned all-conference honors for the second straight season, while Caitlyn Hanulikova joined Schoeck on the second team as well. Hanulikova boasted a team-best 15 wins in singles this past season, losing just four in dual matches for a winning percentage of .789. Michaela Magee and Schoeck also grabbed double-digit wins, tallying 13 and 11, respectively. A total of five members secured double figures in wins in doubles, led by Mia Reese and Grace Rider with 12.

Lauren Oda was named the recipient of the CCIW's RESPECT Award.

The Vikings recently announced their 2022 recruiting class, which can be found here.
 
2021-22 AUGUSTANA WOMEN'S TENNIS SUPERLATIVES
CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS: Lily Schoeck (Second), Caitlyn Hanulikova (Second)
CCIW Players of the Week: Lily Schoeck, Caitlyn Hanulikova
CCIW Academic All-Conference: Nicole Pacheco, Caitlyn Hanulikova, Nan Li, Michaela Magee, Grace Molloy, Lauren Oda, Mia Reese, Grace Rider, Lily Schoeck


TEAM AWARDS

Most Valuable Player: Caitlyn Hanulikova
Most Improved Player: Mia Reese
Newcomer of the Year: Kyliah Shirley
Viking Award ("hands down best teammate" award): Nicole Pacheco