COLUMBUS, Ohio — True to its nature all season long, the UIC women's tennis team turned in another tough, gritty performance, going toe-to-toe with 23rd-ranked Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Making their 18th postseason appearance and first since 2021, the newly-crowned Missouri Valley Conference champion Flames (17-5) produced several moments of brilliance, but would see their season come to an end with a 4-0 loss to the Fighting Irish on Friday morning at Ohio State's Auer Tennis Complex in Columbus, Ohio.
After Notre Dame (21-5) claimed the doubles point, UIC battled back to claim the first set in two of the six singles matches. MVC Player of the Year Mayu Ushio posted a 6-4 victory to open her match at No. 1 singles against 58th-ranked Akari Matsuno, while Nia Cooper prevailed by the same first-set score at No. 5 singles against Maria Olivia Castedo. In addition, Anaïs Brion was in position to send the No. 6 singles match to a third set, rebounding from a first-set loss to lead 4-3 over Carrie Beckman in set two. However, at that point, all three of those matches were left unfinished, as Notre Dame secured wins at the No. 2, 3 and 4 singles spots to clinch the team win.
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