UIC closed out the season with a 5-2 loss to IUPUI Sunday afternoon. Three singles matches that the Flames lost were about as close as they could be, but missed opportunities in doubles put the team behind from the outset.
"We came out and looked overwhelmed in doubles,"
Hans Neufeld observed. "It was a learning experience. We competed well in singles and had our chances in five of the six singles matches."
Gustavo Schwebel won his singles match for the second straight day.
Luiz Dos Santos was UIC's other winner. Schwebel, who was promoted to the #2 singles slot before the weekend, ends the season as the team's leader in singles wins, with five. He and
Anthony Nguyen had a team-high four doubles wins.
Both teams ended the weekend series with one overall Horizon League win, each claiming one victory against the other. IUPUI has two more matches to try to claim the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament outright. If they lose both, they would still win the tiebreaker over UIC with eight total points in the two matches, to UIC's six.
Doubles Results
- Artem Iermolov and Casey Schrader wrapped up their set first, falling 6-0 at #3.
- Pelle Strandberg and Dos Santos went down 6-1 at #1 to hand IUPUI the doubles point.
- Schwebel and Nguyen were deadlocked at 4-4 when they were pulled off the court.
Singles Results
- Nguyen fell in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, at #3.
- Schwebel got the Flames on the board with a 7-5, 6-3 win at #2.
- Iermolov pushed each set to an extra game but could not force a tiebreaker in either, falling 7-5, 7-5 at #4.
- Strandberg shook off a slow first set to win the second, but ultimately fell in the third, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 at #1.
- Schrader also rallied from a set down to force a third set. He battled to the end in a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 loss.
- Dos Santos was nipped in the second set after winning the first, but cruised to a win in the tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 10-0.
