HOMEWOOD, Ill. (March 13, 2024) – Competing in a midweek contest for the first time since its season opener in late January, the UIC women's tennis program (3-8) dropped a 5-2 afternoon contest to crosstown foe Chicago State (8-11) Wednesday at the H-F Racquet & Fitness Club.

For the second match in a row, junior Mayu Ushio (Yamaguchi, Japan/Miami University) and senior Zara Ryan (Dublin, Ireland/Utah State) were victorious for the Flames in singles competition.
 
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ELIZABETH LUMPKIN ROBINSON

"We had a strong start early in the doubles matches but didn't continue our lead. Credit to Chicago State on fighting hard and capitalizing on its opportunities. We are gaining good information on what our strengths are and what we want to focus on Thursday against Rutgers and during our next training block."

MATCH RECAP

• UIC dropped the doubles point against Chicago State. The Flames' No. 2 doubles team of Tamara Malazonia (Birmingham, United Kingdom/St. Paul's School for Girls) and Camille Belberka (Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg, France/Seward County Community College (Kan.) was the lone UIC pair to win its match, defeating their Chicago State opponents 6-4.
• In singles competition, Ryan took down Chicago State's Ethel Li in straight sets at the No. 5 position for her third-straight victory. The senior remains undefeated in March competitions.
• At No. 3 singles, after dropping the first set 6-2, Ushio fought back, winning the second set 6-4 before defeating CSU's Sofiya Sedovich 6-3 in the third set to clinch the match victory. Ushio leads the Flames with five singles victories in 2024.
• Three of Chicago State's four singles victories Wednesday afternoon were won in three-set matches.

Full results from Wednesday's match are below.
 
RESULTS
 
CSU 5, UIC 2
 
Doubles – CSU wins the doubles point

1. Eloundou/Cooper (CSU) def. Gustafsson/Ushio (UIC) 6-3
2. Malazonia/Belberka (UIC) def. Li/Sedovich (CSU) 6-4
3. Dukic/Taibi (CSU) def. Ryan/Rodriguez Gregoris (UIC) 6-2

Singles

1. Eloundou (CSU) def. Gustafsson (UIC) 0-6, 6-3, 6-1
2. Dukic (CSU) def. Malazonia (UIC) 7-5, 6-1
3. Ushio (UIC) def. Sedovich (CSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Taibi (CSU) def. Belberka (UIC) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Ryan (UIC) def. Li (CSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Alvarez (CSU) def. Brion (UIC) 0-6, 7-5, 6-2

UP NEXT

• The Flames return to the court Thursday morning, when they take on Rutgers at 10 a.m. at the XS Tennis Village.
• The Scarlet Knights are 8-3 on the season and are coming off a 5-2 home victory Sunday against Army.
• Rutgers is 4-1 in road competitions this season.
• Junior Minchae Kim is undefeated in singles competition since Feb. 3 while competing at the Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 spots.
• Thursday's match against UIC opens a three-match road trip for Rutgers in Illinois. The team travels to Big Ten foe Northwestern Friday and Illinois Sunday.
• The contest between the Flames and Scarlet Knights will be the first between the two schools in program history.

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).