“I never thought I’d be friends with a Batavia Bulldog,” Krista Panko of Geneva says about Augustana College tennis teammate Kim Sawyer. “I always tease her that I get to call her a Viking forever. … She’s a Viking now.”

It turns out Sawyer makes a really good Viking. The junior recently helped Augustana to a second-place finish in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) tournament by winning the No. 1 singles championship, becoming the conference player of the year in the process.

“It was really exciting,” Sawyer said. “My goal this year was to beat [the No. 1 Wheaton [College player] and try to win the championship. Just to have that accomplishment was really great.”