CHICAGO (Feb. 7, 2024) – After the opening the 2024 season on a three-match road trip, the UIC women's tennis program (1-2) heads to the XS Tennis Village for its first two home matches of the regular season, as the Flames host Milwaukee Friday and Miami University Saturday.
 
Friday's contest will start at 10 a.m. while Saturday's will take place at 1 p.m.
 
SCOUTING MILWAUKEE

• Friday's contest marks the 50^th match between the two programs, with UIC holding a 42-7 overall record in the series. Last season the Flames defeated the Panthers 6-1 (March 5) in Milwaukee.
• Over the last 24 matches, UIC holds a 23-1 record and is currently on a ten-match win streak against Milwaukee.
• The Panthers enter the match against the Flames with a 3-1 record on the season and have won three matches in a row.
• Sophomore Nadilia Konieva is currently on a three-match win streak for the Panthers at the No. 2 singles position. She is 8-1 in her last nine matches and hasn't lost in 2024.

SCOUTING MIAMI UNIVERSITY

• Saturday's match will be the first contest between the two programs in UIC's storied women's tennis history.
• The RedHawks currently sport a 3-4 record on the season. All three of Miami's victories in 2024 have been 7-0 shutout wins.
• Saturday's contest will match Mayu Ushio (Yamaguchi, Japan/Miami University) against her former program. Ushio played at Miami (Ohio) for two seasons (2021-23) and was the recipient of the 2023 Mid-American Conference Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award.

LAST MATCH

• The UIC women's tennis team concluded its season-opening three-match road trip Sunday afternoon, as the Flames dropped a 6-1 contest against Toledo at the Twos Athletic Club.
• UIC's No. 1 doubles pair of Ushio and Agnes Gustafsson (Paris, France/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium) cruised to victory against their Toledo opponents. The pair is now 2-1 on the season. 
• In the singles competition, even though the team match had already been decided, Ushio and Tamara Malazonia (Birmingham, England/St. Paul's School for Girls) maintained focus and fought hard for the Flames. 
• Ushio was the lone Flames student-athlete to win a singles match, winning her match at No. 3 singles in three sets. The junior made a big jump developmentally throughout the two competitions over the weekend.

THE FIRST VICTORY OF THE LUMPKIN ROBINSON-ERA AT UIC

• UIC's 5-2 victory last week at Bowling Green was the Flames' first under new head coach Elizabeth Lumpkin Robinson.
• Lumpkin Robinson was named the 10th head coach in program history in November.
• She grew up in Naperville, Ill. and returns to the Chicagoland area following six seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Oregon.
• While in Eugene, Lumpkin Robinson helped lead the Ducks to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths (2018, 2022) and five winning seasons. She also mentored a pair of players to appearances in the NCAA Singles Championship, along with three All-Pac-12 selections and one All-American.

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 Zara 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).