Wheaton, Ill. -- Matched up against the regionally-ranked Augustana Vikings for the second time in the last two weeks, the Thunder men's tennis team began their hosting of the 2023 CCIW Men's Tennis Championship on campus today. The two squads came into this weekend's postseason event with identical conference records, and Wheaton's recent head-to-head win in Rock Island was decided by a single point, so another close contest felt inevitable. But the home side rode several impressive performances and a doubles competition sweep to top their visitors by a definitive 5-2 margin. The Thunder's record is now 12-9 on the season.

Tim Steiner and Jack Wenzel linked up to earn a dominant 8-1 win at #3 doubles to put Wheaton's first point on the board, before Joey Geisz and Jacob Williams earned a hard-fought 8-6 result in the two slot to double the hosts' advantage. Cody Ching and Jack Booker posted the same scoreline at #1 doubles to collect an impressive third point and set Wheaton up perfectly with a 3-0 edge heading into the singles matches.

Augustana managed to claw back a couple of points via some quality solo output, but the Thunder had too much in the tank and were able to secure the two singles wins they needed to confirm their spot in the next round. Steiner overpowered his #2 rival with a pair of 6-4 set results, and Williams played the role of match-winner, outlasting his #3 singles counterpart in a first-set tiebreak before claiming the second frame at 6-2. Jack Booker was on the verge of a victory over the newly-crowned CCIW player of the year in their #1 singles duel, but the match reached a decision just before the Wheaton junior could close out the result.

Thursday's quarterfinal victory sees Wheaton advance into the semifinal round of the CCIW Tournament, which will be played on Friday at the Wheaton Tennis Courts. The Thunder are scheduled to face off against the competition's top seed, the North Central Cardinals, at 11 AM tomorrow.