Box Score IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Augustana Vikings men's tennis team dropped a long, hard-fought battle to the No. 32 ranked Grinnell Pioneers, falling by a score of 4-3.

"Tough one today," said head coach David DeSimone. "We had some chances and opportunities, but overall was a good way to start the season in a fun and competitive meet."

Augustana grabbed the early advantage following a pair of doubles wins. Arthur Hermange and David Larraga secured a close 7-5 win at the No. 1 position, while Aingeru Garcia and Santiago Diaz won the tiebreaker at No. 3 to put Augie up 1-0 heading into singles.

Each team won twice to start off singles play, making the score 3-2 in favor of Augustana with just the No. 5 and 6 matches left to be decided. Hermange was victorious at No. 1, winning a three-set battle by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Saman Rezaeyan also grabbed an early win for the Vikings, taking down his opponent at the No. 4 slot with a three-set score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Grinnell grabbed the final two matches of the day at No. 5 and 6, including a three-set marathon at the fifth position. 

With the loss, Augie drops to 1-1 on the season. The team will be back in action February 8-9 for the St. Norbert Invite.