NORMAL, Ill. (Oct. 1, 2023) – The UIC women's tennis program had a strong start to its fall portion of the 2023-24 season as two Flames won individual titles at the Redbird Invitational. The three-day event was held at the Gregory Street Courts in Normal, Ill. and was hosted by Illinois State.
 
COMMENT FROM INTERIM HEAD COACH NICO ROUSSET
 
"It was a good weekend for us as a team. It was our first tournament of the season and we competed very well on the court. I feel confident about our program as we progress through the rest of the fall portion of our schedule."
 
REDBIRD INVITATIONAL RECAP

• Junior transfer Mayu Ushio (Yamaguchi, Japan/Nodagakuen Miami (Ohio) won the title in the #4 singles flight, defeating Illinois State's Silvia Pomarolli in Sunday's final. Ushio went 3-0 over the three-day competition.
• Sophomore Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (Canary Islands, Spain/International School of Berne) won the title at the #7 singles flight, winning both matches in the four-person bracket.
• Senior Agnes Gustafsson (Paris, France/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium) finished as the runner-up in the #1 singles flight, while Camille Belberka (Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg, France/Seward County Community College) defeated Bradley's Maria Bezmenova to place third in the #3 singles flight.
• UIC's doubles team of Belberka and Tamara Malazonia (Birmingham, United Kingdom/St. Paul's School for Girls) had the strongest finish in Normal, Ill., finishing as the runner-up in the #2 doubles flight.

Full Results are below.
 
DAY ONE RESULTS
 
Doubles Flight #1:

• Sirbu/Hailey (Bradley) def. Gustafsson/Ushio (UIC) 8-7(4)

Doubles Flight #2:

• Belberka/Malazonia (UIC) def. Brown/Fay (EIU) 8-5

Doubles Flight #3:

• Talavera/ Lindahl (UST) def. Ryan/Brion (UIC) 8-6 

Singles Flight #1:

• Agnes Gustafsson (UIC) def. Marthe Degeorges (UST) 6-2, ret.

Singles Flight #2:

• Tamara Malazonia (UIC) def. Anna Belogliadova (Bradley) 7-6(8), 7-5 

Singles Flight #3:

• Camille Belberka (UIC) def. Manuella Eloundor (CSU) 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 

Singles Flight #4:

• Mayu Ushio (UIC) def. Sindney Stone (Valpo) 5-7, 7-6(4), 10-7

Singles Flight #5:

• Yinong Ma (UST) def. Anais Brion (UIC) 6-0, 6-3

Singles Flight #6:

• Zara Ryan (UIC) def. Emme Johnson (UST) 6-4, 6-1

Singles Flight #7:

• Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (UIC) def. Danina Hughes (CSU) 6-2, 6-3

DAY TWO RESULTS
 
Doubles Flight #1:

• Gustafsson/Ushio (UIC) def. Degeorges/Ma (UST) Ret. 

Doubles Flight #2:

• Belberka/Malazonia (UIC) def. Shved/Saenko (EMU) 8-4

Doubles Flight #3:

• Ryan/Brion (UIC) def. Wooten/Kostadinova (EIU) 8-5 

Singles Flight #1:

• Agnes Gustafsson (UIC) def. Danielle Shwed (EMU) 4-6, 6-4, 10-3

Singles Flight #2:

• Nevena Kolarevic (ISU) def. Tamara Malazonia (UIC) 6-3, 6-2

Singles Flight #3:

• Lana Caculovic (ISU) def. Camille Belberka (UIC) 6-3, 6-4 

Singles Flight #4:

• Mayu Ushio (UIC) def. Kirstin Hailey (Bradley) 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 

Singles Flight #5:

• Nuria Sanz (ISU) def. Anais Brion (UIC) 6-4, 6-3

Singles Flight #6:

• Vidisha Reddy (EMU) def. Zara Ryan (UIC) 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 

Singles Flight #7 (Championship):

• Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (UIC) def. Regina Mendez (EMU) 6-2, 2-6, 10-7

DAY THREE RESULTS

Doubles Flight #1 (5^th Place):

• Gustafsson/Ushio (UIC) def. Dukic/Li (CSU) 8-2

Doubles Flight #2 (Championship):

• Kolarevic/Pomarolli (ISU) def. Belberka/Malazonia (UIC) 8-5 

Doubles Flight #3 (5^th Place):

• Bertino/Fernandez (Valpo) def. Ryan/Brion (UIC) 8-4

Singles Flight #1 (Championship):

• Olivia Czerwonka (Valpo) def. Agnes Gustafsson (UIC) 2-6, 6-3, 10-6

Singles Flight #2 (Third Place):

• Anna Belogliadova (Bradley) def. Tamara Malazonia (UIC) 6-0, 6-0 

Singles Flight #3 (Third Place):

• Camille Belberka (UIC) def. Maria Bezmenova (Bradley) 6-3, 6-1 

Singles Flight #4 (Championship):

• Mayu Ushio (UIC) def. Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) 6-3, 1-6, 10-4

Singles Flight #5 (7^th Place):

• Luisa Renovales (EIU) def. Anais Brion (UIC) 6-0, 6-4

Singles Flight #6 (3^rd Place):

• Helin Alvarez (CSU) def. Zara Ryan (UIC) 4-6, 6-2, 10-5

Singles Flight #7:

• Lillian Kelly (Valpo) def. Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (UIC) 6-2, 4-2, ret.

UP NEXT

• UIC travels down to Springfield, Mo. for the 2023 MVC Individual Championships.
• The three-day event runs from Friday through Sunday at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES

•  For more information on the UIC women's tennis program, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UICWTEN and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wten and @uicflames).