UIC jumped out to an early lead, but Cardinal Stritch rallied down the lineup for a 4-3 win at XS Tennis Thursday morning.
"Our energy today was the best it has been all season,"
Hans Neufeld said. "Cardinal Stritch's players were rated higher than ours at every spot in the lineup, so for Pelle and Anthony to win the way they did was awesome. Doubles played great and we were up in just about every singles match. We need to keep working on that killer instinct and finish out matches when we have the lead."
Neufeld shook up his doubles teams again, and the Flames won the doubles point for the first time this year.Â
Pelle Strandberg and
Anthony Nguyen won the top two singles matches, putting UIC one win away from the team victory. With just five players available for singles, close losses in the #4 and #5 flights kept the Flames from winning their first match of the season.
Doubles Results
Singles Results
- Nguyen made quick work of his opponent at #2, finishing first with a 6-1, 6-1 win. It was his first victory of the season.
- Schwebel went down at #3 by a 6-2, 6-4 final.
- Strandberg had momentum throughout his match and got even stronger as it continued, winning 6-2, 6-0. He won the last 10 games of the match.
- Dos Santos fought to a 3-0 lead in the first set but ultimately lost it. He couldn't overcome a deficit in the second and went down, 7-5, 6-3, at #4.
- Iermolov suffered a similar fate, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first set before giving up a comeback. He carried the loss into the second set and a 7-5, 6-1 loss.
Up Next
- The Flames will have a couple of weeks off before returning to action.
- Their next match will be against DePaul March 20.
- The second meeting against the Blue Demons this season is scheduled to take place outdoors at the Flames Tennis Courts on campus.
