CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (17-5) will get the 2017 Horizon League Championship underway Friday when its takes on No. 6 Wright State (14-13) as the No. 3 seed in the first round at Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., at 2 p.m. CT.
 
The Flames finished the regular season at the top of the Horizon League for the 18th time in program history as it posted a pair of shutouts against Detroit Mercy, 7-0, and Oakland, 7-0, to share the title with Youngstown State and Cleveland State as they all had an 8-1 record. It was the first time UIC has finished in first since 2013.
 
The wins over the Titans and Golden Grizzlies marked three straight sweeps for the Flames as they have been on the winning side in 11 of their last 12 matches, including seven straight. UIC cleaned up with the doubles point in both matches before moving on to claim nine of its 12 singles matches in straight sets.
 
The Flames have turned out a 77-51 (.602) record in singles this season while they are even better in conference play with a mark of 40-14 (.741). Rachel Le Comber boasts a perfect 9-0 record while competing at No. 5 as Miranda Rodriguez Diaz de Leon with eight wins at No. 6. Oana Manole (No. 1), Georgie Sanders (No. 2) and Bianca Zuzu (No. 4) have also contributed to the total with six wins apiece, while Melika LeBlanc (No. 3) rounds out the group with five.
 
Doubles has presented UIC with an overall record of 31-21 (.596) and a 14-7 (.667) mark against league foes as they have clinched the doubles point in conference play six times this season. LeBlanc and Le Comber stand above to other five doubles combinations used this year as they are 12-5 overall and 7-2 in conference all at No. 1.
 
Wright State capped its season with a 4-5 conference record after defeating Green Bay, Milwaukee, Valparaiso and Northern Kentucky. The Raiders produced 29 singles wins in conference with top marks coming from Haily Morgan (7), Karoline Haller (6), Linsey Verstrepen (5) and Elaine Cloern (5). They have come away with 12 wins in doubles with five each for the teams of Haller and Verstrepen (No. 2) and Cloern and Morgan (No. 3).
 
Nearly three weeks ago, the Flames collected a 4-3 victory against Wright State, improving their all-time record to 29-0. While the Raiders claimed the doubles point, UIC used singles wins from Rodriguez Diaz de Leon (No. 6), Le Comber (No. 5), Manole (No. 1) and Sanders (No. 2) to take the win.
 
Last season in the Horizon League Championship, the Flames were eliminated in the semifinals by the reigning champion Youngstown State, 4-1. UIC last came away with the championship title back in 2013 when it won its 17th-consecutive crown.
 
The winner of Friday's match will advance into the semifinals where they will take on No. 2-seed Cleveland State at 2 p.m. Saturday.