MINNETONKA, Minn. – For the fifth straight year, Augustana women's tennis won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament Championship when they defeated second-seeded Upper Iowa 5-1 on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings (21-3) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament that will take place on May 2-5.

The Vikings cruised to a spot in the finals with shutout victories over Winona State and Minnesota State in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively. In the championship dual, Augustana didn't even surrender a singles match to No. 2-seeded Upper Iowa (13-5) as they locked up their fifth straight NSIC Tournament title and sixth consecutive NCAA postseason berth.

In doubles, Jessa Richards and Sydney Postal dropped their first match of the season to Upper Iowa's Saki Kawabata and Iris Verweij by a close score of 8-6. The Vikings got back on track with Berkley Darr and Heather Sullivan taking the No. 2 doubles match, 8-4.

Jenna Helleberg and Meredith Lawrence got off to a quick start with an 8-2 victory in the No. 3 doubles match.
 
With only three more victories needed to clinch their sixth championship, Richards, Lawrence, and Sullivan continued their dominant tournament runs for Augustana's win. Richards earned the third win with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at top singles spot, while Lawrence finished her conference tournament undefeated with a 6-0, 6-1 win.

Sullivan closed the door on the Peacocks and securing the Vikings fifth straight NSIC Tournament Championship with a 6-0, 6-4 win at the No. 6 singles spot.

Augustana has now won 13 straight NSIC Tournament matches and 66 straight in conference play. 

The Vikings now turn their focus to the NCAA Central Tournament where they were slotted as the No. 6 team in last week's rankings. The Vikings will be joined by the Southwest Baptist (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) and East Central (Great American Conference) who won their conference tournaments. The top two teams will each host a portion of the regional the final brackets will be decided on Tuesday, April 28 on the Division II Women's Tennis Selection Show that can be viewed on NCAA.com/LiveSchedule at 7 p.m.