The 2023-24 Augustana women's tennis team got off to a fast start during its fall portion of the season, winning its first two conference duals against Millikin and Illinois Wesleyan to jump out to a 2-0 record.
After seeing wins from both
Caitlyn Hanulikova and
Anna-Maria Huebel at the ITA Regionals, the Vikings endured back-to-back losses, which included a close 5-4 decision to North Park. The team bounced back with a 9-0 victory over Elmhurst and went on to split the final four matches to close out the conference regular season. Following the final contest of the fall, the CCIW named Huebel the league's First-Year Player of the Year, the first Viking since 2017-18 to win the honor. Hanulikova also notched Second Team All-CCIW for the second time in her career.
Augustana opened the spring portion of the schedule with a home victory over UW-Stevens Point before battling through a rough patch that saw four losses by a single point. The team saw an impressive win in Florida for its spring break trip, defeating SUNY New Paltz by a score of 5-4. The Vikings bounced back from a 2-1 deficit following doubles and
Hannah Colbert earned the match-sealing win at No. 3, bouncing back from a 7-5 first-set defeat with a 6-2 win in the second before notching the tiebreaker 10-3.
Returning home, the Vikings earned victories in their final two matches on their home court, picking up a 6-3 win over Loras before a Senior Day triumph over Central by the same score. During the Vikings' contest versus the Duhawks, Hanulikova notched her 100th career victory, becoming the 32nd player in program history do so. In their final match at home, seniors Hanulikova and
Mia Reese both earned wins in the team's victory. Augie saw its season come to an end in the first round of the CCIW Tournament, falling to Carthage by a score of 5-3.
Following the season, four players were named to the College Sports Communicators All-District Team. Colbert, Hanulikova,
Natasha Gauerke, and
Maitreyi Shrikhande were among those recognized. Two days later, Hanulikova was awarded the ITA's Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award, the first recipient in Augie women's tennis program history.
In July, the team was named an ITA All-Academic Team, while 11 individuals were recognized as Scholar Athletes.
ITA Scholar Athletes
2023-24 Team Awards
For an updated look at the women's tennis record book, click
here.
