COLUMBUS, Ohio – Carl Hedstrom won three qualifying singles matches to advance to the main draw as the UIC men's tennis team closed out its fall season at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional at the OSU Varsity Tennis Center.
 
Hedstrom was the first Flame to advance out of the qualifier since 2012, when Alan Reifer reached the final round of 64. In addition to Hedstrom's three wins, Marcelo Dib aided in the effort by picking up a win in his first qualifying match.
 
Hedstrom's run began with a three-set win over Michigan State's Colin Harvey, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, as he then won in straight sets against Marquette's Nick Dykema, 6-3, 7-5. In the final qualifier, Hedstrom fought back from losing the tiebreaker in the first set to defeat Western Michigan's Jannik Opitz, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4.
 
In the main draw, Hedstrom was unable to take the upper hand against Notre Dame's Jonathan Small as he suffered a 6-4, 6-4 loss.
 
Dib was able to fend off Ivan Radomirovic from Horizon League foe Green Bay as he came back from dropping the second set to take the 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win. However, Dib fell in the second round to Valparaiso's Kyle Dunn, 6-3, 7-5.
 
Christian San Andres and Niko Wasilewicz additionally competed for UIC but fell in each of their singles matches. San Andres was bested by Valpo's Daniel Langston, 6-2, 6-1, and Wasilewicz dropped a 6-3, 6-4 decision to Northwestern's Chris Ephron.
 
The Flames were positioned with two doubles matches but came out on the losing side in each. The duo of Hedstrom and Wasilewicz had the best effort as they took their match against Illinois' Julian Childers and Alex Jesse to the tiebreaker but fell 8-7 (4). While facing another conference opponent, Dib and San Andres fell short to Valpo's Brandon Ancona and Langston, 8-4.
 
With the conclusion of the fall season, UIC will prepare for its dual campaign, set to get underway Saturday, Jan. 14, against city-rival DePaul.