BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings women's tennis team was defeated in the opening round of the CCIW Tournament on Thursday, falling to the Carthage Firebirds by a score of 5-3.

Augie faced an early deficit after Carthage earned wins in two of three doubles matches. The Vikings salvaged a point at the No. 1 position, seeing a victory from Caitlyn Hanulikova and Hannah Colbert by a score of 8-5. 

Augustana evened the score with the first win in singles as Anna-Maria Huebel defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot. The Firebirds went back out in front with a win at No. 6, but the Vikings quickly deadlocked the score following a 6-3, 6-0 triumph by Hanulikova at No. 1. Carthage wrapped up the match with a victory at No. 4 and a three-set win at No. 5. Maitreyi Shrikhande bounced back from a 6-1 first-set loss at No. 5 with a 6-4 decision in the second. The two played a back-and-forth start to the third set, resulting in a 3-3 tie beforeher counterpart took the final three games to claim the contest.

With the loss, Augie finishes its 2023-24 season with a 9-13 overall record.