UIC wrapped its first weekend of competition with a hard-fought match against Illinois State Saturday night. The Flames got breakthrough wins from their freshmen, but ultimately did not have enough firepower as the Redbirds got their first win of the season, 6-1.
"We had much better energy today, and we have lots to take from this match going forward,"
Hans Neufeld said. "Doubles was solid. I was pleased to see the freshmen pull off a hard-fought comeback." First-year players
Casey Schrader and
Artem Iermolov rallied for a 7-5 win in their doubles set. On the singles courts,
Pelle Strandberg got his first win in the #1 flight.
"Pelle controlled points and finished strong today. Luiz [Dos Santos] competed in a hard-fought match with much improvement," Neufeld continued. "We're looking forward to getting back to full strength" after competing this weekend shorthanded due to COVID protocols.
Doubles results
- Schrader and Iermolov closed out a 7-5 win on the #2 court.
- Strandberg and Dos Santos fell, 6-3, at #1.
Singles Results
- Strandberg made the winning plays in crunch time, winning a 7-6, 7-6 match at #1.
- Dos Santos was in his #2 match until the end, but came up just short, 7-5, 7-6.
- Gustavo Schwebel went up against a veteran Redbird on the #3 court, where he fell 6-3, 6-2.
- Iermolov rallied from a slow start to force a tiebreaker. The final points went ISU's way, 6-1, 5-7, 10-5, at #4.
- Schrader was on the wrong end of a 6-3, 6-2 match at #5.
Up Next
- The Flames will return to action next weekend with another pair of matches.
- They will take on Western Michigan Friday, and Creighton Sunday.
