SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana College men's tennis team (3-4) will travel to Storm Lake, Iowa to compete against Grand View (6-1) and host Buena Vista (1-4) on Saturday. The Vikings will face off with Grand View at 2 p.m., followed by Buena Vista at 6 p.m.

Scouting the competition:
            -Grand View-
Grand View University is on a six match win streak entering this weekend with a 6-1 record with all six wins coming from the spring season. Their only loss on the season comes from Graceland University by a score of 8-1 on Sept. 13. The Vikings travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face off against Ottawa University on Friday before matching up against host Buena Vista at 10 a.m., followed by Augustana at 2 p.m. The Vikings compete in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). This is be the first meeting between both programs.

            -Buena Vista-
Buena Vista enters the weekend with a 1-4 record this season competing in the NCAA Division III Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Beavers started its fall season with a 7-2 loss to Morningside College, followed by competing in the LLAC individual tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Buena Vista transitioned into their spring season on a three match losing streak before beating Bethany Lutheran with a 7-2 victory. Last season, Augustana took control of the match over the Beavers with a 7-2 victory. Buena Vista will face Grand View University at 10 a.m., followed by matching up against the Vikings at 6 p.m.

Vikings swept Central College
Augustana snapped its four match losing streak with a 9-0 victory over Central College where the Vikings opened with three convincing doubles victories. Jared Hofer and Collin Noldner downed their opponents as the top doubles team winning a close 8-6 match. Zach Adkins and Jackson Buchanan finished 2-0 on the day at the No. 2 doubles spot with an 8-1 performance. Mark DeSpiegler and Trae Olson pushed the Vikings lead to 3-0 to head into singles with an 8-4 win.

Hofer captured his third consecutive victory at the No. 1 singles with a straight-set victory of 6-4, 6-4. Noldner answered at the No. 2 singles spot with a 6-2, 6-1 win and Adkins posted a 6-1, 6-3 win in the third singles flight. The last three matches would all come in three-set victories starting with Buchanan rolling to a 6-1, 4-6, and 10-5 win at No. 4 singles and Ritterbusch registered a 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 win in the fifth singles flight. DeSpiegler put the finishing touches on Augustana's rout with a 2-6, 6-3, and 10-6 win.

Vikings with experience
Augustana has five athletes from last year's squad that gained valuable experience in either their sophomore or junior seasons. Noldner returns for his senior season after playing No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles last season. Noldner posted a 4-11 singles mark, and finished 4-9 at No. 2 doubles. Returning as Augustana's top player, Hofer led the team in single wins last season, finishing with an 8-7 record as the No. 1 singles player, seven of his eight wins came in straight sets, Hofer finished his season on a five-match win streak.

Senior Buchanan primarily played No. 3 singles, finishing with a 7-7 singles record last season. Buchanan went 7-5 at No. 3 singles and 0-2 at No. 2 singles, and won four matches in straight sets. Junior Baade finished with a 4-10 record in singles, playing nine matches at No. 5 and one at No. 4. All four singles wins came in straight sets. Baade finished with a 7-7 record at No. 2 doubles. Colan Surratt will be looking to bounce back from a 5-9 year at No. 4 singles. Surratt posted a 4-9 record in doubles, playing primarily with No. 3 Evans Richards last season.

New faces in the crowd
Augustana welcomes four new faces to the men's tennis team this season. Adkins of Maple Grove, Minn., DeSpiegler of Watertown, S.D., Olson of Rapid City, S.D., and Reed Ritterbusch to the 2014-15 roster.

Leading the charge
Head coach Marc Kurtz is in his 11th season at the helm of the Augustana men's tennis program. Under Kurtz, the Vikings have a 43-94 record since 2005. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference does not sponsor men's tennis. 

Second serve
The Vikings will be back in action traveling to Palmas Del Mar, Puerto Rico for their spring break trip facing off first with Babson College on March 16. First serve will start at 8:30 a.m.