A team without a single senior and just three upperclassmen, the young Augustana Vikings men's tennis team posted a plus-four win margin from a season ago, finishing 11-7 on the year and over .500 in conference action.

Following a trio of individual tournaments in the fall, the team began dual action in the spring with a pair of back-to-back tough losses and against quality opponents. Augie bounced back for their first win of the season, grinding out a close 5-4 road win over Coe to snap a three-match losing streak against the Kohawks.

The Vikings split their next two outings, defeating Cornell before a close loss against Hope in Michigan. A week later, a 9-0 road victory over Dubuque marked the beginning of seven straight wins, seeing three 9-0 wins over that span. In the middle of the streak, the Vikings hosted Central on April 6 for their first home contest, winning by a score of 8-1 before knocking off St. Ambrose on the very same courts to close out their non-conference slate.

Already 1-0 in CCIW action, Augustana remained undefeated with a 5-4 home win over the defending champion North Central Cardinals, snapping their 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.

Consecutive 5-4 losses to Wheaton and Millikin brought Augie's conference record to 2-2, but the team closed out the regular season winning two of their final three, knocking off Elmhurst and Carroll to earn the No. 5 seed in the CCIW Tournament. The Vikings saw their season come to an end in the opening round, falling to the host school and No. 4 seed Wheaton by a score of 5-2.

Following the conclusion of the regular season, the CCIW announced Hermange as the conference's Player of the Year, one year after he was named the First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year his freshman season. He ended the year with a 10-5 overall record in singles, with nine of those wins coming at the No. 1 position in dual meets. A total of five Vikings boasted double-digit wins in singles in 2022-23, led by 13 wins apiece from Luna and Navarro and 12 from Philip. Two Augie members had double figures in wins in doubles, with Philip posting an 11-7 record, while Fontenelle and Luna each had 10 victories.

Four men's tennis student-athletes - Hermange, Luna, Navarro, and Philip - were also named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. All 13 members of the team earned letters this season.

An updated look at the men's tennis record book can be found here.

2022-23 Men's Tennis Team Awards

Most Valuable Player: Arthur Hermange
Newcomer of the Year: Quentin Essayie
Most Improved Player: Gabriel Luna & Nicolas Navarro
Viking Award: Arthur Hermange & Gabriel Luna