WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 1 seed UIC women's tennis team (18-5, 9-1 HL) will have the chance to defend its Horizon League title after taking a 4-1 victory over the No. 4 seed Cleveland State (8-12, 6-6 HL) in the Semifinals on Saturday. The Flames edged past the Vikings in doubles to take an early lead and picked up straight-set wins in the No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 matches to earn the team win and advance to the championship match.
Doubles Highlights
Nell Arendt teamed up with
Marina Hermanny de Figueiredo in the No. 3 match to take down the Vikings' Bethany Yauch and Gaby Shoenberg, 6-3. Cleveland State made its reply in the No. 1 match, as Miruna Vasilescu and Klara Mrcela defeated
Tamara Malazonia and
Agnes Gustafsson, 6-2, to bring the battle for the doubles point to a draw. It all came down to
Lucie Prochazkova and
Ana Jover in the No. 2 match, who fought back from a 5-2 deficit to earn a 7-6 victory over Blanche Lenoan and Kateryna Avram and clinch the doubles point for UIC in thrilling fashion.
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Singles Highlights
Gustafsson started singles on a high note for the Flames, quickly blanking Lenoan in the No. 2 match, 6-0, 6-0. Cleveland State's Vasilescu got the best of Malazonia in the No. 1 match, 6-1, 6-3, but the Flames immediately bounced back with a 6-0, 6-2 win from
Georgia Gulin in the No. 5 match to put themselves just one win away from victory. Arendt sealed the deal for UIC in the No. 6 match, taking down Avram in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Prochazkova's No. 3 match against Mrcela went unfinished as well as Jover's No. 4 match against Yauch.
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Up Next
The Flames will face off with No. 2 Youngstown State in tomorrow's championship. The teams split two matches in Chicago earlier this season on April 3-4. The Flames shutout the Penguins, 7-0, in the opener before narrowly dropping the rematch, 4-3. First serve on Sunday is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT and the finale will be streamed on ESPN+.
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