ROCK ISLAND -- Arthur Hermange won a third-set tiebreaker after a two-hour long match at No. 1 singles to secure the Augustana men's tennis team their seventh straight win and snap the North Central Cardinals' 15-match CCIW winning streak dating back to 2021.

The Vikings fell behind 2-1 after doubles play, earning an 8-3 win at No. 3 from Timothee Philip and Gustavo Fontenelle. Trailing by a point entering singles, the Vikings claimed the lead following a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4 from Gabriel Luna and a 6-3, 6-1 triumph from Philip at No. 5. The Cardinals evened the score at three wins a piece with a victory at No. 3, but the Vikings went back out in front on a win at No. 6 from Nicolas Navarro.

A closely-fought battle at No. 2 went in favor of North Central, setting up a winner-take-all match at the No. 1 position. Arthur Hermange took the first set by a score of 6-2, but was defeated in set two in a tiebreaker to force a third. Hermange prevailed, winning by a score of 6-3 to secure the victory by a match score of 5-4.

"It was a great team effort today," said head coach David DeSimone. Our win at No. 3 doubles was huge, following it up with two exceptional singles matches from Gabo and Tim. I am excited for our guys and proud of this win, but we know we have more work ahead."

With the win, Augustana improves to 9-3 on the year and 2-0 in the CCIW, now the last remaining unbeaten in conference play. The victory snaps a 15-match winning streak for North Central against conference foes and hands them their first loss in 16 regular-season matches in conference as well. The Vikings will be back in action tomorrow as they host the Wheaton Thunder. Start time is scheduled for 11 a.m. from the Lower Campus Courts.