CHICAGO (Feb. 17, 2024) – The UIC women's tennis program (2-3) is hitting the road to start a season-long four-match road trip, as the Flames take on Notre Dame Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
The road contest will start at 3 p.m. CT. at the Eck Pavilion.
 
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME

• Notre Dame currently sports a 6-2 record on the season with losses against then-No. 13 Ohio State and Wisconsin.
• The Fighting Irish shut out DePaul 5-0 at home on Friday and take on Butler at 11 a.m. Sunday before hosting the Flames.
• Senior Julia Andreach and junior Nibi Ghosh are two student-athletes to watch out for on Notre Dame. Andreach is 6-0 at No. 1 and No. 2 singles this season, while Ghosh is 6-0 competing at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots. The Fighting Irish doubles team of Andreach and senior Yashna Yellayi is 4-1 at the No. 2 position this season.
• Last season the Flames fell 5-2 to the Fighting Irish on the road. It was UIC's first contest against Notre Dame since 2009.
• Fans can watch Sunday's match here and follow live stats here.

GUSTAFSSON NAMED MVC SINGLES PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• The Missouri Valley Conference named UIC women's tennis senior Agnes Gustafsson (Paris, France/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium) its Singles Player of the Week Wednesday afternoon. 
• This is Gustafsson's fourth time receiving the weekly honor from the MVC in her career and the first of the 2024 season. 
• Gustafsson had a strong week at the No. 1 singles spot for the Flames, going 2-0 against her opponents from Milwaukee and Miami University, winning both matches in straight sets. She defeated the Panthers' Babette Burgersdijk 6-2, 6-3 and Miami's Saravanan Nishitha 6-3, 6-4.
• The senior is an impressive 4-1 on the season at the No. 1 singles spot and is on a two-match win streak. 

LAST MATCH

• The Flames fell to Miami University 5-2 last Saturday at the XS Tennis Village in non-conference action.
• In doubles competition, UIC's No. 3 team of Zara Ryan (Dublin, Ireland/Utah State) and Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands/International School of Berne) defeated their Miami University counterparts in an exciting match that ended via tiebreaker. The match victory was the second win in a row for the pair.
• In the singles portion of the match, Brion made quick work of her opponent at No. 6 singles and won in deciding fashion to give UIC its first team point of the afternoon.
• With the team score 2-1, Gustafsson had another strong performance, winning in straight sets. The victory gave the MVC Singles Player of the Week a team-high four wins in 2024.

MEET THE FLAMES

• UIC's seven-member roster is comprised entirely of international student-athletes for the fourth consecutive year and it includes four returners from the Flames' inaugural season in the MVC and three transfers. 
• Returners include Gustafsson, a 2023 MVC All-Select Team member, sophomore Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands/International School of Berne), an All-MVC selection last season at No. 6 singles, senior Ryan (Dublin, Ireland/Utah State) and senior Tamara Malazonia.
• Newcomers include junior transfers Ushio, Camille Belberka (Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg, France Seward County Community College (Kan.) and sophomore transfer Anaïs Brion (Neuilly Sur Seine, France/Texas A&M - Corpus Christi). 

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).