Rock Island, Ill. -- The Wheaton men's tennis team took to the road on Saturday for a battle of regionally-ranked conference foes, as the Thunder faced off against Augustana College. The hosting Vikings came into today's match fresh off of their upset of North Central and were the only remaining CCIW team without a loss on their record. But Wheaton used a perfect doubles portion to build an early lead and held its nerve in the singles competitions to earn a significant victory and pick up their first win in Rock Island since 2017.

Jack Booker and Cody Ching returned to their usual #1 doubles position this afternoon and claimed an 8-4 win to get the Thunder off on the right foot. Joey Geisz and Jacob Williams kept on rolling at #2 doubles, as the in-form duet saw off their Vikings counterparts by an 8-3 margin. Tim Steiner and Jack Wenzel ensured that the visitors took maximum points from doubles play with an 8-4 victory in the third slot.

Augustana came roaring back to make Wheaton sweat by winning four of the six singles matchups, including two nail-biting showdowns that required a third set to decide a winner. But a smooth 6-2, 6-1 win by Jacob Williams at #3 singles put the Thunder on the brink of a road victory. Only one more point was required for the guests, and Tim Steiner was happy to supply it, capturing his #2 singles match with a dominant 6-1 third set comeback win after falling in the first frame. The Vikings' play in the singles events made things tricky for the Thunder, but Wheaton managed to claim the necessary five points to pick up a hard-fought win.

After claiming its 11th victory of the season and moving to 4-2 in CCIW play, the Wheaton men's team will return home to meet Carthage College in another important conference clash on Wednesday afternoon.