CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (1-3) will return home to face the Cardinal Stritch (2-1) on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 10:30 a.m. CT at XS Tennis. The dual will serve as the first meeting all-time between the two teams.

LAST TIME OUT
UIC took a 7-0 loss against Ball State on Friday on the road. The Flames were able to force tiebreakers in two singles matches, but were unable to seal the deal and secure a point. In the No. 4 position, Amelia Guevremont defeated Isabelle Dohanics in the first set, 6-2, but was edged out in the next two sets, 6-4, 11-9. Rachel Le Comber was defeated by Victoria Sec 6-1 in the first set, and fought back with a 6-4 victory in set two, but Sec took set three 6-2 for the win at No. 5.

SCOUTING CARDINAL STRITCH
Cardinal Stritch secured a 7-0 sweep of Horizon League-member Green Bay on Saturday, Feb. 17, and are 2-1 on the season. The Wolves' Volvy Boilevin is undefeated in singles play, boasting a 1-0 record in the No. 1 spot and a 3-0 record at No. 2. Katiuska Adarmes is also undefeated in singles, with a 3-0 mark in the No. 5 position and a 1-0 record at No. 6.  

FLAMES FALL FINISH
The Flames competed in three fall tournaments prior to the ITA Regionals: the Cincinnati Invitational, the Wildcat Invite and their own UIC Invitational. The Flames ended fall tournament play with a combined 32-31 record in singles play and 18-17 in doubles, and were highlighted by newcomer Amelia Guevremont's 8-2 showing. Veterans Rachel Le Comber and Georgie Sanders both wrapped up the fall season with a 5-5 record in singles play. On the doubles side, UIC was led by the duo of Viktoria Seifert and Stefana Vasic (4-2) as well as Georgie Sanders and Lejla Colic (5-5).

FLAMES PICKED FIRST IN HL PRESEASON POLL
UIC was picked to finish first in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, receiving five of a total possible nine first-place votes. The Flames finished with a total of 86 points, just ahead of Youngstown State in second with four first-place votes and 84 total points. Cleveland State (63) finished third, Wright State (57), fourth, while Northern Kentucky (53), Detroit Mercy (47), Oakland (46), Milwaukee (27), IUPUI (23), and Green Bay (9) finished fifth through tenth, respectively.

UIC ADDS THREE
This year's roster boasts nine players consisting of three newcomers and six returners. Amelia Guevremont is the only true freshman in the bunch, having arrived in Chicago by way of Verdun, Quebec. Sophomore Lejla Colic joins UIC after finishing her freshman season at Washington State, where she was 13-9 in singles play and 12-8 in doubles. Viktoria Seifert joins the Flames after two years at Seminole State, where she was the Trojans' number one player in both singles and doubles in her sophomore year. Returning to the roster are veterans Rachel Le Comber, Melika LeBlanc, Miranda Rodriguez Diaz de Leon, Georgie Sanders, Stefana Vasic and Bianca Zuzu.