MATCH ONE (WSU) | MATCH TWO (NSU)

FARGO, N.D. – Augustana earned their fourth straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship with two match wins on Sunday.  The Vikings spoiled Winona State’s bid for a perfect NSIC season with a 7-2 win over the Warriors and won a 6-0 match over Northern State despite rainy conditions to close out their perfect conference season. 
 
The Vikings now sit at 17-2 with one regular season match remaining and finished the NSIC regular season with a 12-0 record.  Augustana has now reeled off 43 straight match wins in the NSIC regular season including 28 by a score of 9-0.
 
Match One
Augustana clinched at least a share of the fourth consecutive NSIC regular season championship with their 7-2 win over Winona State.
 
Katie Jesperson led the Viking charge with a thrilling three-set win over WSU’s Erin Kappers, edging her No. 1 singles opponent in the third set super tiebreaker 11-9.  Jessa Richards handled her opponent easily, posting a 6-1, 6-2 win in the second singles flight.
 
Michelle Wadas also went the full three sets with her opponent, eventually winning in the third set.  Hannah Gebauer won the first set of her No. 4 singles match 6-4 and was up 3-0 in the second before her opponent retired. 
 
Heather Sullivan was the only Vikings singles player to fall, losing in three sets at No. 5.  Jenna Helleberg closed out the singles portion of the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win in the final singles slot.
 
Wadas and Jesperson suffered the second loss of the day at the top singles flight, but the next two Viking pairings coasted to doubles wins.  Richards and Gebauer won 8-1 at No. 2 while Sullivan and Helleberg teamed up for an 8-2 win I the third doubles flight.
 
Match Two
Augustana needed a win over Northern State to ensure an outright regular season conference title and did just that with a 6-0 win despite rain halting play. 
The Vikings opened with three doubles victories, all by at least five games.  Jesperson and Wadas won 8-3 in the top spot, and Richards and Gebauer continued their dominance at No. 2 doubles with an 8-2 win.  Sullivan and Helleberg won the final doubles match by an 8-1 margin.
 
Jesperson and Richards won the top two singles matches in straight sets.  Jesperson topped her opponent 6-0, 6-1 and Richards won 6-2, 6-0.  Sullivan was the only other
 
Viking to complete her match before rain forced the players off the courts. Sullivan won the No. 5 singles match 6-3, 6-0.
 
Augustana returns home to close out the regular season by hosting Nebraska-Kearney on Monday, April 15 at 2 p.m.