On Friday, Sept. 28, the Augustana men’s tennis team won their first home match against St. Ambrose with an overall team score of 8-1. Augustana won two of the three doubles matches and all of the single matches.
Senior captain Jack Morkin said that the encouragement from his teammates helped him perform well at the first match. He said after this initial team win, the team will continue to improve as the season continues.
“I thought the team played well together. I could hear multiple guys from across the courts cheering for each other. Everyone was looking to pick each other up during the match and that’s really what our team is about. We’re a very tight-knit and close team, so we’re always looking to help each other by cheering during matches,” Morkin said.
During the first set of the singles competition, Augustana was able to get ahead of St. Ambrose and win the first match of the night. Morkin started off the Vikings with a win of 6-1 and 6-0.
Following the senior was first-year Kyle Boudreau, who was able to gain another victory for the Vikings winning the next match. Boudreau said that the practices played a major role in their victory.
“We’ve worked really hard in practice and we’ve developed a great sense of camaraderie both on and off the court. It’s definitely a confidence boost knowing you’ve got good friends playing right alongside you,” Boudreau said. “We can continue to improve throughout the season by strengthening our focus on the court. We have a lot of talent but it means nothing if we can’t put it all together mentally.”
After Boudreau won his match against St. Ambrose with the scores of 6-2 and 6-0, the rest of the Augustana team followed with victories across the board.
Morkin and Boudreau took the win for the first double match played against St. Ambrose. The pair were able to play to their strength and stayed consistent with their play during the match ending with a score of 8-2.
By the end of the doubles competition, senior captain Alex Riddle and first-year student Justin Cassens won against St. Ambrose with a score of 8-1.
Watching the meet alongside his teammates was sophomore Caio De Rezende. De Rezende said that the team has been successful and that they need to play just as tough mentally as they do physically.
“We have lots of talented players, but that should improve their capacity of winning matches and being smarter in the court,” De Rezende said.
The team will continue to play for the duration of the fall. Their official season will not start until the spring, but these games help them to prepare for the upcoming season.