After the conclusion of what was a dominant season by the men’s tennis team, the Vikings headed into the weekend of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) tournament looking to cap off their conference regular season title with the tournament championship, hoping to accomplish what the previous four iterations of the program were unable to.
With a three way tie between Augustana, Carthage College and North Central College for the CCIW regular season title, the tournament would prove to be anyone’s to take, especially when considering that each of those teams cracked the top 75 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) list of Division three programs the week of April 30, 2025. The list would see North Central and Carthage placed right next to each other at numbers 38 and 39, respectively, and Augustana being slightly further down the list, just outside the top-50 with a number 52 ranking. While some would look at such a ranking and be pleased with their inclusion, First-Year Kay Woldringh Castillo had a more competitive approach to the rankings.
“We actually think we are still ranked too low on that list,” Castillo said. “With the new rankings that came out, we moved up two spots up to number fifty-two, but North Central and Carthage are now in the top-40, and considering that we beat North Central, I definitely think we could be higher.”
Their hopeful title run would kick off in the quarterfinals against the Millikin University Big Blue, a team they had bested just the weekend prior. What was originally scheduled as a home matchup for the Vikings turned into a trip to Sterling, Illinois, home of the indoor facility they would have to utilize, considering the inclement weather taking over the Rock Island area.
Many of the team members accept that if given the choice, they would much rather play in front of a home crowd on an outdoor court, especially sophomore Aingeru Garcia Acebo, one of the more outspoken athletes on this particular issue.
“Unfortunately, we have to play indoors against Millikin because it’s going to rain,” Garcia Acebo said. “As a team, we prefer to play outside; we feel it greatly benefits every single person, one through six, but either way, we are going to do our best.”
Despite the undesirable conditions, it would be no matter for Augustana, as they would yet again best Millikin with a final mark of 4-1, moving on to face the Carthage Firebirds, the only team in the CCIW to best them in the regular season.
Even with both teams knowing how tightly contested this semifinal match would be, Carthage also had a very impressive season, going 12-6 out of conference and being part of the three-way tie for first in the CCIW. It’s hard to believe that anyone predicted it would be as hard fought as it was.
With the first two doubles matches going in favor of Carthage, Augustana knew they would have to buckle down and take four of the next five contests if they wanted to appear in the championship matches. The Vikings would start out on the right foot, claiming three of the next four with help from Arthur Hermange, who would avoid the need for a third set, winning the first two of his singles match.
This would leave it all up to sophomore David Larraga in the final set. Knotted at three points apiece, the Vikings would need Larraga to close out his final set against fellow sophomore for Carthage, Diego Silva, and he would do just that, claiming a 6-3 victory, sending Augustana to the championship to take on the North Central Cardinals for a chance at their first title in four years. Sophomore Santiago Diaz remembers the moment leading up to the final point and the instant it was clinched, as he and his teammates sprinted out to celebrate with Larraga.
“We had all finished our matches and we were waiting for him [Larraga],” Diaz said. “He was winning his third set, but he was cramping to the point where he couldn’t really walk. He was up towards the end but had lost three points in a row. On the last serve, he put the return in, and it was such an unorthodox return that his opponent missed it. We all felt incredible, we all ran out to him, so excited to make it to the final. It’s our first time in four years, so we knew how big of an achievement this was.”
Sadly, the run would stop there, as the Vikings would fall 4-1 against the now-repeating CCIW champions, North Central. While certainly not the finish they had worked all season for, it’s hard to look back on the 2025 men’s tennis season as anything less than a success, and it’s hard to look at the program’s future as anything less than bright.
