Augustana University Athletics

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - No. 41 Augustana returns home for the first time in eight matches for a pair of home matches this weekend. The Vikings (13-1, 6-0 NSIC) welcome St. Benedict's (7-5) on Saturday, March 22 at 2:30 p.m. then return to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action with a match against Bemidji State (4-3, 2-3 NSIC) on Sunday March 23 at 9 a.m. Both matches this weekend will be played at Sioux Empire Fitness.
 
Second serve
The Vikings conclude a four-match home stand with matches against MSU Moorhead and Winona State on March 28 and 30, respectively.
 
Scouting the competition: Vikings look to expand win streaks
Opening the weekend with St. Benedict's the Vikings conclude an eight-match break in their NSIC regular-season schedule. The Blazers come in with a 7-5 record, including a win over MSU Moorhead one month ago. St. Benedict's has dropped their last four matches, beginning with a three-match skid of 5-4 defeats. The Vikings are 7-1 in non-conference matches having won their last four and losing their only match to Division I St. Joseph's in Puerto Rico last week. On the road, St. Benedict's is 2-1 while the Vikings are perfect at Sioux Empire Fitness with a 4-0 record.
 
Bemidji State will be the Vikings' first NSIC opponent in exactly one month on March 23 -- the Vikings took down Minnesota Crookston 9-0 for their sixth straight conference victory to open the season. The Beavers enter the weekend with a 4-3 record, 2-3 in NSIC competition. BSU will face St. Benedict's the night before their match with Augustana. The Vikings won last year's matchup against Bemidji State by a 9-0 margin and had won the previous four contests in shutout fashion. Since joining the NSIC, the Vikings are 5-0 against BSU with four 9-0 wins and a 7-2 victory in 2009. A win over the Beavers would be Augustana's 50th straight regular season victory over a conference foe.
 
Vikings suffer first loss, take down two D1s in Puerto Rico
Augustana traveled to Humacao, Puerto Rico for five matches over spring break and the Vikings returned with a 4-1 record. The first loss of the season came against Division I St. Joe's hailing from the Athlantic 10 Conference. The Vikings were swept 9-0, the first time that has happened since they fell to Cincinnati in 2012. Augustana rebounded nicely with a quartet of blowout wins, including two over Division I teams.
 
The Vikings took down Robert Morris of Illinois 8-1 then picked up a pair of 9-0 wins the following day by taking down Division I Providence and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. Augustana concluded their trip to the unincorporated U.S. territory with an 8-1 win over Division I Valparaiso. The Vikings return on a four-match winning streak with the No. 1 doubles pairing of Jesperson and Richards holding their undefeated record at 12-0.
 
Jesperson doubles up on NSIC players of the week for 2014
Senior Katie Jesperson collected her second NSIC player of the week honor this season after posting a 7-1 record on Augustana's spring trip to Puerto Rico. The Elk River, Minn. native went 4-1 in singles, suffering her first defeat of the season, and a 3-0 mark in doubles action with partner Jessa Richards. Jesperson was upended for the first time in 2014 by Division I St. Joseph's top singles player but she bounced back quickly with four wins as the No. 1 singles player for the Vikings. Jesperson kept her doubles mark unblemished with three dominating wins, never allowing her opponents to take more than two games in her three matches in the Caribbean. This is Jesperson's third career conference player of the week honor.
 
The rankings file
The Vikings moved back up to No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Rankings after falling one spot in last month's release. Two Vikings were also represented in the singles rankings with Katie Jesperson moving up one spot to No. 4 and Jessa Richards sticking to her No. 15 ranking. The doubles pairing of Jesperson and Richards has not faltered this season with a 12-0 record and they were rewarded by remaining as the second-ranked team in the Central Region.
 
Augustana suffered a bit of a hit in the national rankings last month, but remained the only NSIC team in the top 50 at No. 41. The Vikings were pushed down due to Arkansas Tech's win over Northeastern State, sliding the Vikings down one spot in the region poll and three in the national rankings. Southwest Baptist remained the highest ranked in the Central Region, holding the No. 33 spot, but quickly followed by Arkansas Tech and Northeastern State on at No. 34 and 35. Central Oklahoma is nipping at the Vikings' heels, checking in at No. 42. The next national ranking is set to come out March 26 with singles and doubles rankings.

Three-set thrillers
In the seven matches to open the season, Augustana had not lost a singles match and won all their contests in straight-set fashion. Then, the Vikings encountered heightened competition and played a total of seven three-set matches, winning all of them. Jessa Richards and Christine Olivo each tallied a pair of three-set victories in both of their matches against Northwest Missouri State and Nebraska-Kearney. Richards and Olivo nearly echoed each other's winning style in losing the first set and coming back to win on Saturday, then winning the first set and holding on for the victory on Sunday.
 
Francesca Beg is 1 for 1 on the season in three-set matches, pulling out a victory against Northwest Missouri State. Katie Jesperson and Meredith Lawrence each experienced their first close match of the season against Nebraska-Kearney. Jesperson bounced back after a harrowing first-set defeat to win in three over the 11th-rated player in the region. To open the season, Meredith Lawrence won four matches 6-0, 6-0 and started with a ninth consecutive shutout set, but was taken to a third by way of second-set tiebreak win. Lawrence then wasted no time with a 10-5 super tiebreaker win, keeping her record unblemished and the Vikings' mark in three-set matches at 7-0.
 
Streaks on streaks on streaks
Augustana is nearing the half-century mark in one streak while several individuals have started some impressive runs of their own. In regular season conference matches, Augustana has won 49 consecutive with no signs of slowing down. Last season, Augustana went a perfect 12-0 with 10 shutout wins. In matches against conference opponents, regardless of postseason or regular season designation, the Vikings have won 43 straight matches over NSIC opponents. Three Vikings suffered their first defeats of the season in the 9-0 loss to St. Joe's but Augustana's top doubles pairing remains unbeaten in 2014. Katie Jesperson and Jessa Richards sport their No. 2 region ranking well with a 12-0 mark this year, holding their opponents to five games or fewer in all 12 matches and recording four shutouts.
 
Straight sets and straight A's
Not only excelling on the court, the Vikings left their mark academically with last year's squad. Five athletes earned their way onto the Academic All-NSIC list, including a pair of repeat honorees in Jesperson and former player Michelle Wadas. Helping Augustana to the ITA All-Academic team award were five individuals who were named ITA All-Academic scholar athletes. Heather Sullivan, Jessica Spalding and Katie Jesperson were honored as Academic All-NSIC performers and return for another season with the Vikings and Jenna Helleberg adds one more to that trio by joining them as returners who earned ITA All-Academic scholar athlete accolades.
 
Leading the charge
In his sixth season as the head of the Augustana women's tennis program, Marc Kurtz has established his team as the elite squad in the conference as well as picking up a host of awards for himself. Kurtz has been named the NSIC coach of the year three times in the past four years while leading his teams to a 107-26 record. In NSIC matches, Kurtz owns a 55-3 record and has won the NSIC regular-season team title in four consecutive years, posting a perfect 49-0 record since 2010. Under Kurtz's direction, The Vikings have won the past three NSIC tournament titles and have earned 18 All-NSIC singles honorees and 10 all-conference accolades on the doubles side.