NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 27, 2024) – The No. 3 UIC women's tennis program's 2024 season concluded Saturday night, as the Flames fell 4-3 to No. 2 Illinois State in the semifinals of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Championship.
With the match tied at 3-3, the Redbirds won the decisive third set at No. 5 singles to clinch the victory. UIC won the doubles point and singles matches at the No. 3 and 4 positions in Saturday's loss.
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ELIZABETH LUMPKIN ROBINSON
"We may have finished our season but the impact of this group will always be with our program and me. We fought until the last moment, and we trusted each other and stayed together through all of the season even in the stretches of tough results. I am honored and grateful to have coached our team and I am excited for the future."
MATCH RECAP
- The Flames won the doubles point for the tenth match in a row, after winning contests at the No. 2 and 3 doubles positions. UIC's All-MVC No. 2 doubles pair of senior Tamara Malazonia (Birmingham, United Kingdom/St. Paul's School for Girls) and junior Camille Belberka (Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg, France Seward County Community College (Kan.) won its match 6-4, while the Flames No. 3 tandem of senior Zara Ryan (Dublin, Ireland/Utah State) and sophomore Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (Canary Islands, Spain/International School of Berne) made quick work of its Illinois State opponent, winning 6-2.
- After Illinois State won singles matches at the No. 1, 2 and 6 singles positions to take a 3-1 lead in the team score, junior Mayu Ushio (Yamaguchi, Japan/Miami University) won her match at No. 3 singles to cut the UIC deficit to one.
- At No. 4 singles, Belberka dominated the third set, winning 6-1 to tie the team score at 3-3. The win was her 13th singles victory of the season.
- With the season on the line, Ryan won a crucial second set via a 7-2 tiebreak to force a third set against Illinois State's Nuria Sanz. However, Sanz won the third set to clinch the match for the Redbirds.
NEWS AND NOTES
- UIC won the doubles point in every conference competition this season.
- Malazonia and Belberka had a team-high 17 doubles wins in 2024 and finished the season on a 14-match win streak dating back to Feb. 10.
- UIC's doubles tandem of Ushio and Gustafsson finished the year with 12 victories. Ushio had 14 doubles victories in 2024.
- Belberka had a team-high 13 singles victories for the Flames this season. Ushio finished second on the team with 10 victories, followed by Gustafsson with nine and Anaïs Brion (Neuilly Sur Seine, France/Texas A&M - Corpus Christi) with eight.
- The Flames finish the 2024 season with a 10-13 record. The team won seven of its final 11 matches.
Full results from Saturday's match are below.
RESULTS
ISU 4, UIC 3
Doubles – UIC wins the doubles point
- Zlatanovic/Caculovic (ISU) vs. Gustafsson/Ushio (UIC) 6-5, unfinished
- Malazonia/Belberka (UIC) def. Kolarevic/Pomarolli (ISU) 6-4
- Ryan/Rodriguez Gregoris (UIC) def. Limparis/Sanz (ISU) 6-2
Singles
- Zlatanoic (ISU) def. Gustafsson (UIC) 6-3, 6-2
- Caculovic (ISU) def. Malazonia (UIC) 6-2, 6-2
- Ushio (UIC) def. Kolarevic (ISU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Belberka (UIC) def. Pomarolli (ISU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
- Sanz (ISU) def. Ryan (UIC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (2-7), 6-3
- Rodrigo (ISU) def. Brion (UIC) 6-4, 6-4
SUPPORT THE CHICAGO COLLECTIVE
- Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC student-athletes through contributions to The Chicago Collective.
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).
|
