HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. -- UIC resumed the 2018-19 season on Monday with a pair of matches at the Motor City Cup in the Sunshine State. The Flames fell in their opening match against top-seeded Youngstown State, 4-1-1, before firing back in the afternoon to upset fifth-seeded Northern Kentucky, 4-1-1.

UIC's victory over NKU marked the second time this season that the Flames outplayed a higher-ranked opponent in a single round. During the second round of the NKU Fall Classic on September 10, UIC shot 313 as a squad to Youngstown State's 316.

Against the Penguins on Monday, Shivani Majmudar picked up the lone victory for UIC, while Claudia Stampa was all square after 18 holes with her opponent.

"The girls played really well with a good team in Youngstown State," said UIC head coach Mat Blair. "We were neck-and-neck through the first six holes, which was important because we had struggled some with our starts in the fall. Claudia Stampa played really well in the morning against one of the best players in the conference and halved her match. It was a really fun match to watch."

UIC received several strong performances on the Las Colinas Course at Mission Inn Resort in the afternoon session from a mix of veterans and young players alike. Meghan Kramp collected a 3-up victory, while Kelly Sterling battled back from being 1-down through 15 holes to square her match. Freshmen Stephanie Mroz and Adrienne Montalone added victories of 6&4 and 3&1, respectively, to help take down the Norse. Majmudar continued to play well with a 2-up triumph over her afternoon opponent.

"I was really proud of Shivani [Majmudar]," said Blair. "She went 2-0 on the day. The freshmen really stepped up for us in the afternoon. Meghan [Kramp] played well throughout and Kelly [Sterling] had a pivotal match as she was one own with three to play, but she came back to square the match to help solidify the win for the team.

The Flames have one more match at the Motor City Cup on Tuesday. UIC will square off against Creighton beginning at 7:09 a.m. CT. The Bluejays also went 1-1 on Monday with a loss to Loyola Chicago (4-1-1) and a victory over Valparaiso (5-0-1).