ST. LOUIS (April 25, 2024) – The Missouri Valley Conference named three UIC women's tennis student-athletes to its Scholar-Athlete teams Thursday afternoon. The conference selected seniors
Agnes Gustafsson (Paris, France/Akademi Båstad Gymnasium) and
Tamara Malazonia (Birmingham, United Kingdom/St. Paul's School for Girls), while the MVC named senior
Zara Ryan (Dublin, Ireland/Utah State) to its Honorable Mention team.
Gustafsson and Malazonia were two of the nine student-athletes named to the First Team, while Ryan was one of seven student-athletes selected to the Honorable Mention team. The Flames were one of six programs to have three or more student-athletes selected to an MVC Scholar-Athlete team and were one of three schools to have multiple first-team selections.
This is Gustafsson's second year in a row being named to an MVC Scholar-Athlete team. She was named Honorable Mention last season. 2024 marks Malazonia and Ryan's first selection to an MVC Scholar-Athlete teams.
Thirty-seven student-athletes were nominated for The Valley's scholar-athlete team. The criterion for the honor parallels the CSC (College Sports Communicators) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must have participated in at least 75% of the regular-season matches or be projected to play in the MVC Championship, with at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore status in both athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen). The scholar-athlete teams are decided by a vote of the league's women's tennis sports information directors, with guidance from head coaches. The full list can be found below, with UIC student-athletes listed in
bold.
First Team
Darinka Stepan, Sr., Drake - 4.00 Athletic Training
Agnes Gustafsson, Sr., UIC - 3.66 Sociology & Psychology
Tamara Malazonia, Sr., UIC - 3.85 Biological Sciences
Nevena Kolarevic, So., Illinois State - 3.87 Cybersecurity
*Silvia Pomarolli, So., Illinois State Psychology
Tijana Zlatanovic, Sr., Illinois State - 3.82 Exercise Science
Olivia Czerwonka, Gr., Valparaiso - 3.70 Nursing
Sarah Bureau, Sr., Murray State - 3.97 Management
Marit Kreugel, Gr., Murray State - 4.00 Business Administration
Second Team
Anna Belogliadova, So., Bradley - 4.00 Business Economics & MIS Business Analytics
Alexandra Hildreth, So., Bradley - 4.00 Management & Leadership Certificate
Ines Stephani, Sr., Drake - 3.61 International Relations
Natalie Slezakova, Gr., Murray State - 4.00 Business Adminisration & Finance
Juliette Robinson, Jr., Missouri State - 3.97 Finance
Darta Dalecka, Jr., UNI - 3.81 Communications
Elizabeth Sobieski, So., Valparaiso - 4.00 Biology/Chemistry
Sydney Stone, So., Valparaiso - 3.91 Psychology
Honorable
Maria Bezmenova, Sr., Bradley - 3.55 Cyber Security & Marketing
Amy Henning, Jr., Missouri State - 3.92 Nutrition & Dietetics
Sandra Lukacova, Jr., Missouri State - 3.51 Marketing Management
Mary Houston, Sr., Missouri State - 3.84 English Education
Megan Null, So., Murray State - 3.94 Biology/Pre-Physician Assistant
Annika Pschorr, Sr., Murray State - 3.83 Exercise Science/ Exercise Physiology
Zara Ryan, Sr., UIC - 3.55 Biochemistry
Mia Bertino, Sr, Valparaiso - 3.89 Education
Moira Silva, So., Valparaiso - 3.56 Nursing
On the court, the senior trio has combined for 231 victories (107 singles, 124 doubles) during their time in Chicago.
Gustafsson, Malazonia, Ryan and the No. 3 UIC women's tennis program will open play No. 6 Missouri State Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Championship. Friday's match will start at 2 p.m. at the Beaman Family Tennis Complex. Live stats for Friday's match can be found
here.
Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC student-athletes through contributions to
The Chicago Collective.
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).
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