UIC fought for the Horizon League championship Sunday morning against the #1 Cleveland State Vikings.  Despite fierce battles on several courts, the Vikings' top-flight singles players captured enough matches to propel them to a 4-1 win.

"I couldn't be prouder of the way the guys battled today and all weekend," head coach Hans Neufeld said.  The third-seeded Flames were playing their third match in three days after defeating Northern Kentucky in the quarterfinals and topping Youngstown State in a marathon semifinal.

Anthony Nguyen won the Flames' lone point with a 2-and-love win at #4 singles.  He also was victorious in that flight in the regular season match between the teams.  Nguyen finished the season with a team-high 10 singles wins.

Cleveland State took advantage of a late break in doubles play that enabled them to clinch the doubles point.  The teams split the first two singles matches.  As the Flames rallied on the #3 and #6 courts, the Vikings outlasted UIC in two other matches to render those comebacks moot.

The Flames appeared in the championship match for the first time since 2010.  They became conference runner-up for the eighth time in program history – most of any team in the league.

Doubles Results

• Cleveland State took an early lead in the #3 match over Marcelo Dib and Pelle Strandberg by capturing a couple of breaks.  The Vikings never relented on their way to a 6-2 win.
• The match on the #1 court was much tighter.  Johan Hedstrom and Kasper Parlklo eventually surrendered a lone break, but that was enough for Cleveland State to make their way to a 6-4 decision.
• At #2, William Wale and Niko Wasilewicz were in a neck-and-neck battle which stood at 5-5 when action was halted.

Singles Results

• Wasilewicz could never find his footing in the #2 matchup, falling in a 6-0, 6-0 final.
• Anthony Nguyen defeated Raul Teichmann for the second time in the #4 flight.  The Flames' freshman was relentless in the 6-2, 6-0 win.
• Kailash Panchapakesan was another straight-sets victim on the #5 court.  When his 6-3, 6-4 match was over, Cleveland State needed just one more win to claim the championship.
• Hedstrom led 5-1 in the first set of his showdown at #1 against Nico Mostardi.  The Viking showed why he was the conference's Player of the Year, coming back to win the set and, later, the match, 7-5, 6-2.
• Parlklo came back from a set down to win the second, 2-6, 7-5.  The third set had yet to commence when the match went final.
• Strandberg was in the midst of his second of two competitive sets and led in the second, 4-6, 5-4.