UIC, Cleveland State to Square Off for Women's Tennis Title

INDIANAPOLIS -- UIC sits one win away from its 15th straight Horizon League women's tennis title, where the Flames will face Cleveland State in the League championship match on Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings advanced to the title match after a come from behind 4-1 win over Butler, while UIC swept Detroit, 4-0.

The Flames and Vikings will meet at 12:30 p.m. ET, with HorizonLeague.com carrying the match live.

With matches moved indoors due to rain in the Indianapolis area, top-seeded UIC and No. 5 Detroit moved to the Butler Bubble, where the Flames persevered for the doubles point after the teams split the first two matches.  Jana Knoppe and Linda Hricistova cruised at No. 3, 8-1, before Detroit's Amanda Cornwell and Carolina Salas picked up an 8-6 win to force the rubber match at No. 2.  In a back-and-forth affair, it was Teona Tsersvadze and Ilinca Cristescu who picked up the late break to give the Flames a 1-0 lead after the 8-6 victory.

In singles play, Mariya Kovaleva made quick work of her opponent at No. 1, dropping just two games in a 6-1, 6-1 rout.  Elisa Simonetti followed soon thereafter with a 6-0, 6-3 win to leave UIC one point away from the match, but Detroit hung tough, as Carolina Salas Espinosa, Elena Strakhova and Raina Halabi each took matches into the third set.

However, Linda Hricistova blitzed her foe at No. 6, winning 6-2, 6-0, to clinch the result for UIC and give the team its 132nd straight victory against a League opponent.

The Flames meet a Vikings team that dropped the doubles point before rallying with the middle of its lineup to post a 4-1 win over third-seeded Butler.  The Bulldogs raced out to the early lead after Stephanie McLoughin and Gabrielle Rubenstein rallied for a 9-8 victory at No. 1, taking the tiebreaker, 7-4.  The duo trailed by two breaks in the set before coming back.

Earlier in doubles play, it was Kara Sherwood and Mengdi Liu who gave Cleveland State its first win, taking the 8-3 decision at No. 3; however, Gabriella Bobrowsku and Brittany Farmer knotted doubles action after an 8-5 triumph at No. 2.

Needing to win four of six singles matches to move on to the championship, the Vikings struck quickly, as Maria Lazaris and Alex Power each won, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively.  Leading 2-1, Sherwood added to the advantage with a straight-set 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 3.  With the No. 2 match in the third set and Butler leading at No. 6, No. 1 singles headed to a third-set tiebreak between Cleveland State's Catrine Bjerrehus and Butler's Natali Jaimes.

It was Bjerrehus who emerged with the match-clinching result, winning the tiebreak, 7-4, to take the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-6.

Butler and Detroit will meet tomorrow in the League's third place match.  In the backdraw, Wright State claimed fifth place after a 4-0 sweep of Milwaukee.

(1) UIC 4, (5) Detroit 0
Horizon League Women's Tennis Championship Semifinals | Indianapolis (Butler Bubble)
Doubles:
No. 1 - Amanda Cornwell/Carolina Salas (DET) def. Mariya Kovaleva/Elisa Simonetti (UIC) 8-6
No. 2 - Teona Tsertsvadze/Ilinca Cristescu (UIC) def. Raina Halabi/Elena Strakhova (DET) 8-6
No. 3 - Jana Knoppe/Linda Hricistova (UIC) def. Erin Weldon/Julia Fernandes (DET) 8-1
   Doubles order: 3-1-2

Singles:
No. 1 - Mariya Kovaleva (UIC) def. Amanda Cornwell (DET) 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 - Teona Tsertvadze (UIC) vs. Carolina Salas (DET) 3-6, 6-4, 5-2 DNF
No. 3 - Ilinca Cristescu (UIC) vs. Elena Strakhova (DET) 6-3, 3-6, 5-6 DNF
No. 4 - Elisa Simonetti (UIC) def. Julia Fernandes (DET) 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 - Jana Knoppe (UIC) vs. Raina Halabi (DET) 6-2, 2-6 DNF
No. 6 - Linda Hricistova (UIC) def. Erin Weldon (DET) 6-2, 6-1
    Singles order: 1-4-6

(2) Cleveland State 4, (3) Butler 1
Horizon League Women's Tennis Championship Semifinal | Indianapolis (West Indy Racquet Club)
Doubles:
No. 1 – Stephanie McLoughlin/Gabrielle Rubenstein (BU) def. Alex Bush/Alex Power (CSU) 9-8 (7-4)
No. 2 – Gabriella Bobrowski/Brittany Farmer (BU) def. Catrine Bjerrehus/Maria Lazaris (CSU) 8-5
No. 3 – Kara Sherwood/Mengdi Liu (CSU) def. Cam Thompson/Angelina Qiu (BU) 8-3
   Finishing order: 3-2-1

Singles:
No. 1 – Catrine Bjerrehus (CSU) def. Natali Jaimes (BU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 – Alex Bush (CSU) vs. Caroline Hedrick (BU) 4-6, 6-4, 3-3 DNF
No. 3 – Kara Sherwood (CSU) def. Stephanie McLoughlin (BU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 – Maria Lazaris (CSU) def. Gabriella Bobrowski (BU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 – Alex Power (CSU) def. Gabrielle Rubenstein (BU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – Mengdi Liu (CSU) vs. Brittany Farmer (BU) 2-6, 3-2 DNF

(4) Wright State 4, (6) Milwaukee 0
Horizon League Women's Tennis Championship Fifth-place Match | Indianapolis (North Central H.S.)
Doubles:
No. 1 – Masha Peresetsky/Kenisha Webb (WSU) def. Kelly Fritz/Sammi Schoen (UWM) 8-6
No. 2 – Kayla Tuscany/Taylor Hines (WSU) vs. Mary Ellen Donovan/Megan Gow (UWM) 7-3 DNF
No. 3 – Amy Nini/Lizzy Clark (WSU) def. Beth Ganser/Kristin Kurer (UWM) 8-2

Singles:
No. 1 – Kayla Tuscany (WSU) def. Kelly Fritz (UWM) 6-0, retired
No. 2 – Masha Peresetsky (WSU) vs. Sammi Schoen (UWM) 6-4, 3-4 DNF
No. 3 – Kenisha Webb (WSU) def. Kristin Kurer (UWM) 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 – Amy Nini (WSU) def. Megan Gow (UWM) 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 – Beth Ganser (UWM) vs. Taylor Hines (WSU) 6-3, 2-0 DNF
No. 6 – Chelsea Girgash (WSU) vs. Mary Ellen Donovan (UWM) 6-3, 5-2 DNF