HOMEWOOD, Ill. – The UIC women's tennis team (13-6, 7-1 HL) extended its win streak to six on Saturday afternoon with a 5-2 upset over first-place Youngstown State (13-10, 7-1 HL). The Flames collected two of three doubles victories to get the 1-0 advantage and went 4-for-6 in singles play to uproot the top-ranked Penguins.

"I'm really proud of this team," head coach Shannon Tully said. "Today's win took every single player stepping up and competing without fear. It was just a great battle to watch, and I'm just really proud of my girls."

Doubles Highlights
Noelly Longi Nsimba and Imaan Hassim of Youngstown State took the first doubles matchup of the day with a 6-2 win over Melika LeBlanc and Rachel Le Comber. The Flames rallied behind Georgie Sanders and Lejla Colic, who took down Sofia Macias and Tamara Teufl by the same score, 6-2. Viktoria Seifert and Miranda Rodriguez Diaz de Leon fought in close match with Ana Stroe and Anastasiia Khokhlova, landing on top by a final score of 7-6 (4).

Singles Highlights
The Penguins tied it up in the first singles match, as Khokhlova bested LeBlanc 6-2, 7-5 at the No. 3 position. Le Comber handed Hassim her first conference loss of the season, taking the first set of the No. 4 match 6-3 before Hassim retired. Youngstown State once again tied the match with a win at the No. 2 spot, as Macias defeated Sanders 6-2, 6-3. Seifert won her 11th straight match to remain undefeated against conference opponents, topping Teufl in the No. 5 position, 6-3, 7-5. Bianca Zuzu clinched the win for the Flames with a three-set thriller over Cassandra Moraleja at No. 6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and Colic won a hard-fought battle with Nsimba at No. 1, 6-7, 7-6 (8), 6-1. The loss was just Nsimba's second loss in conference play all season.

Up Next
Tomorrow morning the Flames will play for the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's Horizon League Tournament, as they face Cleveland State. First serve is set for 11 a.m. CT at the Flames Outdoor Tennis Courts. Seniors Melika LeBlanc, Miranda Rodriguez Diaz de Leon and Bianca Zuzu will be honored prior to the start of the match.