UIC showed fight in the beginning of singles competition, but Cardinal Stritch had a fast start to the match and finished strong to take a 5-2 win from the Flames on Thursday afternoon.

"Kasper [Parlklo] stepped up for us and won a good match at #2," head coach Hans Neufeld said.  "Anthony [Nguyen] played well too.  We had to shuffle our doubles teams last minute and lost the doubles point.  We still had chances in the last two singles matches to pull it out."

Doubles Results

• William Wale and Kailash Panchapakesan played together for the first time, after Wale's usual partner Niko Wasilewicz suffered an injury before the match.  Wale and Panchapakesan played at #2 and lost, 6-2.
• Anthony Nguyen and Pelle Strandberg were reunited on the #3 court.  The duo played together at the beginning of the season.  Thursday, they fell 6-4.
• The team of Johan Hedstrom and Kasper Parlklo was unaffected by the changes.  Their #1 set was unfinished after Cardinal Stritch won the doubles point.

Singles Results

• Parlklo played in the #2 flight for the first time, and captured his first win as a Flame.  It was a straight sets triumph, 6-3, 6-2.
• Panchapakesan, who was elevated from #6 to #5 last match, was bumped further to #3.  He was a 6-1, 6-3 victim on that court.
• Nguyen returned to his customary #5 position.  He too was a straight sets winner, 6-3, 6-4.
• Wale played singles for just the third time this season.  On the #6 court, he fell 6-3, 6-4, as the Flames and Wolves split the first four singles matches.
• Hedstrom moved up to #1 singles and put himself in a position to win the Flames a crucial point.  His effort in the last set came up just short in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 loss.
• Strandberg fought to the finish at #4.  His serve was broken at 5-3 in the third set and he was unable to come back, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Up Next

• The Flames will continue their homestand this weekend.
• UIC will host Northern Illinois Saturday at 2:00 at Hinsdale Racquet Club.