ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's tennis team stormed back from an early deficit to defeat the No. 32 ranked North Central Cardinals on Saturday by a score of 4-3.

North Central grabbed the early advantage after two wins in doubles play. Augie's Aingeru Garcia and Santiago Diaz secured a 6-2 victory at No. 3, but the visitors claimed No. 1 and 2 to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles.

Four of the six singles contests were decided in three sets, beginning with North Central's victory at the No. 2 position. Saman Rezaeyan got a point back for the Vikings after winning his match at No. 3 by a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, while David Larraga earned the team's second win with a 6-4, 6-2 decision at No. 4. The Cardinals secured the win at No. 2 to maintain a 3-2 lead with two matches remaining. 

Timothee Philip pulled the Vikings even at 3-3 with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 victory at No. 6. At No. 5, Santiago Diaz earned a hard-fought 7-6 (8-6) win in the opening set, but fell 6-4 in the second to set up a winner-take-all third set. Diaz jumped out to a 3-0 lead before extending it to 5-1, but his opponent inched closer to make a 5-3 game. Diaz sealed the victory for the team with a 6-3 third set score to hand the Cardinals their first conference loss of the season.

With the win, Augustana improves to 9-4 overall and 2-1 in conference. The team will host Wheaton on Tuesday for their next match.