The Augustana women’s tennis  team looks to wrap up their fall season with a strong performance and possible win at the CCIW Conference Championships this Thursday through Saturday in Hanover Park, Ill..
Augustana heads into the tournament as reigning champions and with a seasonal record of 10-1 and a 7-1 record in the CCIW. The team has six returning players from last season. The one player that was not on the team last year is freshman Zeana Badawi, who head coach Jon Miedema said has “followed everyone else’s lead and has fit well in the team framework.”
With such an cohesive and experienced team, Miedema said he feels confident going into the tournament and believes they will have a strong performance.
“Going into this (tournament)  we’ve been in close situations before having won conference last year,” Miedema said. “Six of our seven players have been in this situation, which helps our confidence and belief. With a veteran team like this, there aren’t many surprises.”
The high percentage of return players adds to the level of chemistry on the team. Senior Dana Goggin believes that the chemistry of the team has been the key to their success this fall.
“We are a very close-knit team, and being that there are only seven of us, this is essential,” Goggin said. “We all truly care for each other and want to see everyone succeed. We also have a wide range of personalities on the team and it definitely keeps things fun and interesting at practice.”
The Vikings suffered their first loss of the season this past weekend to Wheaton College. The Vikings lost 1-8. Sophomore Caitlyn Schaffer and Goggin scored the lone point in their match against Wheaton in the number one doubles.
Other double matches during the day were the number two doubles, where senior Lauren Goggin and Badawi lost 8-1.
In the singles, Lauren and Dana were unable to capture a win, falling 4-6 and 3-6 respectively in their matches.
For most of the season, the Vikings have had a clean record of winning, usually claiming victory with 9-0 wins. The closest match they had this season was against CCIW rival and future opponent at the CCIW tournament, Carthage College. The Vikings defeated the Reds on Sep. 14 with a narrow 5-4 win.
In addition, their experience from last year will be beneficial to how the team handles the upcoming tournament. Last year at the tournament, Dana won the number two singles against Katie Park from Wheaton. In the number three singles junior Mollie Magee won against Emily Jones of Wheaton. There were other Viking victories and high performances as the Vikings advanced to every championship round in last year’s tournament.
Despite their first loss, Goggin said the team still believes they can win the tournament.
“After our loss to Wheaton on Saturday, our confidence is hurting a little bit. However, I am confident that we have the ability to win conference this year. Being a senior, I definitely feel some additional pressure to end the season well,” Goggin said.