The UIC men's tennis team will begin the spring portion of its 2016-17 schedule with a busy weekend.  The season will begin with a match against cross-town rival DePaul.  The action will start at 3:15 pm Saturday afternoon at Lakeshore Sports & Fitness in Lincoln Park.

The Blue Demons, who finished third in the always competitive Big East last season, will be just the first stiff test for 16^th year head coach Hans Neufeld's squad.  UIC will travel to Western Michigan Sunday to face the defending MAC champions and NCAA tournament participant Broncos.

Later in the non-conference schedule, the Flames will square off against Indiana, Northwestern, and Utah – all away from home.

"These early tests against top competition will expose what we need to work on," Neufeld said.  He continued with a smile, "we'll either be really beat up or really ready for conference play."
"We'll get a good early look at our squad with the big crosstown rivalry at DePaul, then face a premier MAC team in Western Michigan."

The team's senior co-captain, Carl Hedstrom, will start the season at the #1 singles position.  Hedstrom was a first team All-Horizon League selection last year.  Sophomore Marcelo Dib, slotted to start at #2 singles, is the other co-captain.

Horizon League Preseason Poll

The preseason Horizon League poll was released today. Defending champion Valparaiso received seven first place votes and was chosen by league coaches, who could not vote for their own teams, to finish in first place this spring. UIC was slotted seventh out of eight teams in the voting, five points behind sixth place Detroit Mercy. Place..Team (1st place votes)....Points 1. Valparaiso (7)..............................49 2. Cleveland State (1).....................35 3. Northern Kentucky.....................31 3. Green Bay....................................31 5. Youngstown State......................29 6. Detroit Mercy..............................23 7. UIC................................................18 8. Wright State...................................8

"Carl and Marcelo give us valuable leadership, which we'll need this year since we're so young," Neufeld stated.  The roster includes four freshmen and three sophomores.

Freshman Niko Wasilewicz will be expected to make immediate contributions.  "Niko will make a major impact for us," Neufeld said of the "tall, powerful lefty" who was a four-time All-State honoree in the Illinois high school ranks.  He won the 2015 state doubles championship and finished second in 2016 with his partner, Chris Casati, who is now a member of the DePaul squad lying in wait for UIC Saturday.

Wasilewicz defeated Casati in singles competition in last fall's River Forest Invitational in a thrilling 7-6 (6), 5-7, 11-9 match.

In that invitational, UIC's freshmen compiled eight wins.  Christian San Andres earned two of them, and partnered with Nate Campanile to pick up two doubles wins over the weekend.

"Nate will be a doubles specialist and a valuable contributor this season," Neufeld said.  Campanile is a graduate student who brings veteran experience to the Flames.

Another freshman, William Wale, has been added to the roster for the spring schedule.  "I expect William to make a major impact for us in both singles and doubles," Nefueld commented.

UIC will open Horizon League play on February 24 at Valparaiso, then go a month before facing their second conference opponent on March 25 at Cleveland State.  UIC will not have a true home match until March 9, when Niagara visits for a non-conference tilt at XS Tennis.  After four straight league road matches to end March and begin April, the Flames will host four straight contests at the Flames Outdoor Tennis Courts, concluding the regular season against Michigan State April 23.

The Horizon League Tournament will be April 28-30 in Ann Arbor, Mich.