CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (3-2) looks to keep its perfect home record in tact this weekend when it hosts Illinois State (3-4) Saturday at XS Tennis, where it is currently 3-0, at 5 p.m. CT.
 
The Flames are coming off their closest match of the season that ended with a 4-3 win over Bradley this past Sunday (Feb. 12). The team swept doubles for the second time this season and went on to take three singles matches. Bianca Zuzu won a straight-set 6-3, 6-4 decision at No. 4, Melika LeBlanc came away with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory at No. 3 and Georgie Sanders sealed the match with a three-set thriller, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, from at No. 2.
 
Sanders was awarded for having clinched the match and winning in both doubles and singles by being named the Horizon League Player of the Week. The tandem of Miranda Rodriguez Diaz de Leon and Stefana Vasic were additionally deemed Doubles Team of the Week as they were responsible for securing the doubles point with a 7-5 win at No. 3.
 
Through five dual matches, UIC has acquired 14 singles wins with Zuzu (No. 4) and Rachel Le Comber (No. 6) leading the group off 3-2 records. The Flames have come away with six wins in doubles as the combination of Le Comber and Vasic has worked most efficiently with two wins.
 
Illinois State heads to Chicago with three wins on the year over Western Illinois, 4-0, Butler, 4-3, and UIndy, 5-4, while it has lost its last two matches against Northern Illinois and Iowa State.
 
The Redbirds have been credited with 13 singles wins, paced by Valerija Gercar's five at the No. 5 position. The team has successfully turned out 11 wins in doubles with the teams of Marcia Tere-Apisah and Jelena Karla Vujicic (No. 1) and Jana Kustkova and Gabriela Sprague (No. 2) earning four wins each.
 
The Flames hold a 7-11 record in the all-time series with the Redbirds, while all seven of the wins have come across the last 10 meetings, including a most-recent 7-0 shutout in 2015.