Feb. 22, 2011

CHICAGO- The UIC men's tennis team will travel to Madison, Wis. for their third straight game on the road, against No. 40 University of Wisconsin at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 23, beginning at 4 p.m.

UIC (2-7) is coming off an Iowa road trip weekend, where the Flames split a pair of wins and losses against Graceland and Drake University respectively. The Flames defeated Graceland University, 6-1, on Saturday, Feb. 19, at a neutral site in Des Moines, Iowa. On Sunday, Feb. 20, UIC were defeated by the hands of host Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, 6-1.

The Flames took all three doubles matches from Graceland, and only dropped one singles match in the process, coming in at the No. 6 singles position. Against the host Drake, the Flames took the doubles point away from the Bulldogs, and won in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles slot.

"Wisconsin will be the biggest challenge of the year," said head coach Hans Neufeld. We are coming off a good performance at Drake, and hope to improve on it in Madison."

The Wisconsin Badgers are coming into this match, with an overall record of 3-4 in dual season play. This past Wednesday, Feb. 16, the Badgers snapped a four-game losing streak, by defeating in-state rivals Marquette in the Nielsen Tennis Stadium, 6-1.

The Badgers have a nationally ranked tandem of Billy Bertha and Marek Michalicka, coming in at No. 43 according to the ITA. On the singles side of play, Marek Michalicka comes in ranked at No. 8, according to the Midwest Regional rankings edition.

The Flames fell to Wisconsin last year, at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis., 6-1.