CHICAGO -- After winning 146-consecutive matches against conference opponents, the UIC women's tennis team had its historic streak come to an end Saturday, as the Flames fell to Detroit, 4-3, in a Horizon League dual match at the Flames Outdoor Tennis Courts.
UIC hadn't been defeated by a conference opponent since the 1996 season, when the Flames fell to Green Bay (April 21, 1996) in the postseason tournament final.
“We had great energy from beginning to end,” said Detroit head coach Pjotrs Necajevs in a release provided by the school. “The team kept believing in themselves and fought very hard to the end. That was the difference maker today.”
The Titans were a challenge for the Flames from the start, as the teams began in doubles and Detroit took two of the three matches to jump out to a 1-0 lead.
Prior to the match, UIC honored its lone senior, Haley Craig, who went 2-0 on the day in doubles and singles play.
At No. 1 doubles, Craig and Mariana Palacios downed Elena Strakhova and Valery Kulikovskaya, 8-3, for the first win of the day. Kathryn Sharples and Jana Knoppe suffered an 8-4 loss at No. 2 to Nino Sujashvili and Irina Slizovskaya, while Natalia Kuvakina and Ann-Sophie Hahnfell to Raina Halabi and Chloe Karoub, 8-6, at No. 3.
In singles, UIC had three of its matches extend to a decisive third set, while claiming a pair of straight-set wins from Craig and Knoppe.
Craig recorded her second win of the day, as she competed at No. 2 and took down Julia Fernandes, 6-0, 6-4, before Knoppe collected a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5 over Halabi. Palacios produced the Flames final win of the day after capturing a three-set (5-7, 6-3, 6-1) win at No. 1 over Karoub to improve to 2-0 at the position.
UIC was faced with three tough losses to end the match, as Sharples dropped a 7-6 (5), 6-3 decision to Kulikovskaya at No. 4. Kuvakina had her match at No. 3 go to three sets after taking the first (7-5), but fell in the final two frames, 6-2 and 6-3, to Slizovskaya. The deciding match came at the No. 6 position, where Keti Mebuke was defeated by Strakhova, 5-7, 6-3 and 7-5.
“This is a huge win for the program,” said Necajevs. “We are rewriting the history from the beginning. I would like dedicate this win to former players and supporters of Titan Tennis; we couldn't have done it without you.”
