VALPARAISO, Ind.-- No. 6 seeded Illinois State (14-7, 6-1 MVC) will face off against the No. 2 seeded UIC Flames (15-4, 7-1 MVC) in the semifinal round of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championships inside The Courts of Northwest Indiana hosted by Valparaiso University. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. (C.T.)
LAST TIME OUT
The Birds defeated the Drake Bulldogs 4-2 in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 MVC Championships. ISU claimed the doubles point with wins from juniors Lana Caculovic (Dugo Selo, Croatia) and Silvia Pomarolli (Cecina, Italy) at No. 1 by a 6-4 final over Jessica Popiol/Jana Ruzic. Graduate student Elena Jankulovska (Skopje, Macedonia) and freshman Emma Lindh (Malmo, Sweden) clinched the point with an identical 6-4 victory at the No. 2 position against Elizabet Klavinska/Shiori Takeda.
As competition shifted to singles play, the Birds picked up three wins. Caculovic picked up a straight-set win over Drake's Popiol at No. 1 by a score of 6-2, 6-2. At No 2, Pomarolli battled to a 6-2, 6-2 victory for the third win of the day over Klavinska. Nicole Iosio (Cordenons, Italy) secured the match for the Redbirds defeating Tess Caldicott, 7-5, 6-2.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC received a first round bye in the MVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Flames finished the regular season with a 15-4 overall record while holding a 7-1 record in the Valley.
UIC blanked tournament host Valparaiso in the regular season finale 7-0. At No. 1 Mayu Ushio picked up a 7-5, 6-1, 1 (10)- 0 (3) win over Valpo's Moira Silva. Doubles play was led by Camille Belberka and Edit Cosmo who battled to a 6-2 victory at the No. 2 position.
ALL-TIME MEETINGS VS UIC
Illinois State trails 8-13 in all-time meetings against the Flames. The Birds are 3-8 inside Evergreen Racquet Club and are 4-5 while traveling to the Windy City.
The last meeting was nearly two weeks ago (April. 13) as ISU fell 5-2 at XS Tennis Village in Chicago, Ill. The first ever match between the two schools took place on March 14, 2004 in Normal, Ill, which ended in a 4-3 Redbird win.
MVC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Redbirds will make a fifth trip to the Missouri Valley Conference Championships since the 2020-21 campaign, looking for their first MVC Tournament title since 2022.
In 2024, Illinois State advanced to the Championship match for the third consecutive season before falling to Murray State, 4-1. The 2023 MVC Tournament saw the host Redbirds advance to the Championship match against Drake, as the Bulldogs closed the match with a win at No. 2 singles for the 4-3 win and the MVC title.
In 2022, the Birds received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after defeating the Drake Bulldogs, 4-3, before falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tourney.
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