First serve
Augustana embarks on their annual spring trip to sunny Orlando, Fla. for five matches. On the trip, the Vikings will play ASA College, Central College, Chicago State, Radford, and St. Michael's over four days. The Vikings moved up two spots to No. 5 in the second edition of the Central Region rankings.
Pouncing on the Panthers
The Vikings had a slow week with just one match, but it may have been circled on their calendar all year. Augustana traveled to Waterloo, Iowa for a match with Division I Northern Iowa. The Vikings came away victorious with a 4-3 win as Division I scoring counts the doubles matches as one point. The top three singles players suffered their first setbacks of the year losing to the UNI singles top half.
Hannah Gebauer started off the Viking charge with a 6-1, 6-2 win and
Heather Sullivan continued her dominance at the No. 5 singles spot with a 6-0,6-0 win, her fifth double-bagel of the season. The No. 6 singles flight was forfeited in favor of the Vikings and the team score was tied 3-3 after the singles matches. Katie Jeserson and
Michelle Wadas lost their second match of the year at No. 1 singles, Gebauer and
Jessa Richards evened the match back at 4-4 with their 8-3 win. The No. 3 doubles matches were forfeited by the Panthers and the Vikings snuck out of Waterloo with a 4-3 victory.
Region ranking roundup
The Vikings leapt up two spots in the latest edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released on Feb. 25. Augsutana opened the season at no. 7 in the newly realigned central region, but their early seson dominance showed the rest of the region enough to move into the top five. The Vikings were left out of the national rankings released Feb. 27, but hope to continue to climb up the region rankings.
Katie Jesperson appeared at No. 19 in the preseason singles rankings and
Hannah Gebauer and
Jessa Richards were ranked as the eighth-best doubles pairing in the Central Region.
Spring trip history
Augustana has taken a trip to Florida for the past three years and come away with quite a few victories. In the first two years in the Sunshine State, the Vikings returned with a 5-0 record each time. The 2010 trip included a 5-4 win over St. Michael's, and opponent the Vikings will face this year. Last year's trip may have not seemed as fruitful with a 2-2 record on the trip, but the Vikings saw high competition in their two losses. The Vikings faced perennial Division II powerhouse Indianapolis and fell 6-3. To close the spring trip, Augustana squared off with Division I University of Cincinnati and fell 9-0. The Vikings look to take down D-1 Chicago State and Radford on this year's trip.
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 an 83-22 overall dual match, record including a 46-3 conference mark.
Second serve
The Vikings will return to NSIC action with a pair of road dual on March 23. Augustana will face St. Cloud State and Bemidji State in St. Cloud, Minn.
