CHICAGO (April 7, 2024) – Winning its fifth doubles point in a row along with four singles matches, the UIC women's tennis program (8-10, 4-1 MVC) handed Belmont (10-8, 3-2 MVC) its second conference loss of the season, as the Flames took down the Bruins 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the XS Tennis Village.
 
The victory is UIC's second in a row and its fifth in the last six matches.
 

Another win for the Flames!#ChicagosCollegeTeam pic.twitter.com/POgIQdUwNE

— UIC Women's Tennis ???? (@UIC_WTEN) April 7, 2024

COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH ELIZABETH LUMPKIN ROBINSON
 
"Today was a hard-fought battle and our team fought hard for each other. Every court was extremely competitive from both teams and it was good for us to be challenged until the last point. We are going to appreciate this moment and then get back to work and prepare for next weekend."
 
MATCH RECAP

• The Flames won the doubles point behind victories by the No. 2 pair 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.) and the No. 3 tandem of Zara Ryan (Dublin, Ireland/Utah State) and Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (Canary Islands, Spain/International School of Berne).
• Belberka and Malazonia were down 5-3 in their match before winning the next four games to clinch the 7-5 victory. The duo has a team-high 11 doubles wins in 2024 and are on a nine-match win streak dating back to Feb. 10.
• In singles competition, Ryan continued her dominant play at No. 5 singles, defeating her opponent in straight sets. The senior leads the Flames with nine singles wins on the season and has won eight of her last ten matches.
• At No. 4 singles Belberka took down her Belmont counterpart in straight sets, winning both sets by 6-3 scores. The sophomore has eight singles victories in 2024.
• Down 5-2 in the second set, Anaïs Brion (Neuilly Sur Seine, France/Texas A&M - Corpus Christi) clinched the match victory for the Flames with a straight sets victory at No. 6 singles. The sophomore has eight singles wins this year and is on a five-match win streak dating back to March 13.
• With the team match secured, Malazonia won her contest at No. 2 singles in three sets to earn her second victory in a row and sixth singles win this season.
• The Flames have played two matches in a row without losing a singles match in straight sets. Both of UIC's singles losses Sunday were decided in three sets.
• With Sunday's win UIC jumped to second-place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 4-1 conference record.

Full results from Sunday's contest are below.

RESULTS
 
UIC 5, BEL 2

Doubles – UIC wins the doubles point

1. Hlahola/Zholdakova (BEL) def. Gustafsson/Ushio (UIC) 6-3
2. Malazonia/Belberka (UIC) def. Gjinaj/Kliimand (BEL) 7-5
3. Ryan/Rodriguez Gregoris (UIC) def. Getty/Sokolovic (BEL) 6-2

Singles

1. Hlahola (BEL) def. Gustafsson (UIC) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
2. Malazonia (UIC) def. Gjinaj (BEL) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Zholdakova (BEL) def. Ushio (UIC) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
4. Belberka (UIC) def. Kliimand (BEL) 6-3, 6-3
5. Ryan (UIC) def. Sokolovic (BEL) 6-4, 6-0
6. Brion (UIC) def. Hamilton (BEL) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)

UP NEXT

• The Flames are off until Saturday when the team travels to Springfield, Mo. to take on Missouri State in MVC action.
• Saturday's contest will start at 10 a.m. CT from the Cooper Tennis Complex.
• The Bears are 10-8 on the season but 1-3 in conference play.
• Missouri State is 6-1 at home, with its only loss coming in its last match against Drake.
• The Flames are 2-0 all-time against the Bears. Last season the UIC won 6-1 against MSU in Chicago.

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).