First serve
Tasked with just one match, Augustana (9-0, 7-0 NSIC) will have a full plate on Sunday morning when they face Division I Northern Iowa at 10 a.m. in Waterloo, Iowa. on March 3. This is the Vikings' last match before embarking on a spring trip to Orlando, Fla.
Three up, three down
Augustana remained perfect in 2013 with three 9-0 road victories, all in dominating fashion. Two of the win s came over Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes to remain tied atop the NSIC standings at 7-0 in conference matches. To open a doubleheader, the Vikings beat Minnesota, Crookston 9-0 on Saturday morning. All six Vikings won in straight sets, highlighted by
Jessica Spalding's double-bagel at No. 6 singles.
Heather Sullivan moved up to No. 3 singles and dropped her UMC opponent, 6-1, 6-0.
Liz Lewis and
Jessa Richards also won by only surrendering one game. In the Vikings' sweep of the doubles matches, only two pairings lost one game each.
The second leg of the doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth was about the closest any tennis team will come to a perfect match might ever come. Across all nine matches, all 18 sets, the Vikings gave up just four games to the Bulldogs. Four singles players won 6-0, 6-0, and the Augustana top doubles pairing of
Katie Jesperson and
Michelle Wadas blanked their opponent as well.
To close the weekend, Augustana shut out its eighth opponent of the year in non-conference adversary, the College of St. Scholastica. The Vikings trucked out their top six singles players and handed the Saints a 9-0 defeat. No singles player gave up more than two games in a set and Augustana's No. 2 and 3 doubles won 8-0.
Sullivan struts her stuff
Sophomore
Heather Sullivan was the only Viking to play all three singles and doubles matches this past weekend and performed spectacularly. Sullivan went 6-0, only losing three games in nine sets played. Against Minnesota, Crookston and Minnesota Duluth, Sullivan jumped two spots to play at No. 3 singles, winning both match handily, including her fourth double-bagel of the year in her win at UMD. On Sunday, Sullivan moved back to No. 5 singles and won 6-0, 6-1 to stay undefeated in 2013. Teaming with fellow sophomore
Jenna Helleberg, the No. 3 doubles pairing surrendered just one game in three matches. Sullivan and Helleberg have only lost eight games on the season and have won by a score of 8-0 three times this season.
A closer look a Northern Iowa
The Vikings hope to knock off Division I opponent Northern Iowa this Sunday, but the Panthers will not go down easily. Northern Iowa competes in the Missouri Valley Conference and hold a 2-2 record on the season. The Panthers have reached the MVC conference team tournament semifinals four of the last five years and lost in the final match in 2010.
Phoebe Walker is UNI's top singles player and has posted a 3-1 record in both singles and doubles. Walker's only losses came at the hands of the University of Minnesota, who was ranked No. 61 in the Division I rankings. Augustana, specifically
Jessa Richards, may look to take advantage of No. 2 singles where the UNI has struggled and bumped their original player down to No. 3 after starting the season 0-3. The Panthers' No. 3 doubles pairing has yet to win a match in 2013 in three attempts.
Coaches' corner
Marc Kurtz is in his fifth season as the head coach for the Augustana women's tennis program and it has been a fruitful four years prior. After finishing in a tie for fourth in his first season, Kurtz has led his team to 33 straight NSIC victories and three straight conference titles. During his tenure, Kurtz owns a 82-22 overall dual match, record including a 46-3 conference mark.
Second serve
The Vikings head to Orlando, Fla. to play four matches between March 11 and 14 as part of their spring break trip. Augustana will face two more Division I opponents while on their trip to the Sunshine State.
