CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (4-3) will make a trip east to play three teams in three days, beginning with a matchup against Western Michigan on Thursday, March 15 at 1 p.m. CT. The Flames will then face Bowling Green on Friday, March 16 at 12 p.m. before wrapping up the road trip against Toledo on Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames recorded their first shutout of the season on Sunday (March 11), sweeping Illinois State 7-0 for their third-straight win. UIC grabbed the doubles point for the third-consecutive match, and went undefeated in singles play to record the sweep.  

COLIC & SANDERS TABBED AS DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK
Lejla Colic and Georgie Sanders were named the Horizon League doubles team of the week on Tuesday (March 13) for the period of March 6-12. The duo earned its first Horizon League accolade as a pair, and the first weekly award for the Flames this season. Colic and Sanders secured the doubles point for UIC against Illinois State on Sunday with a 6-4 win from the No. 1 spot. The Flames went on to sweep the Redbirds, 7-0.

The tandem has gone undefeated this dual season, boasting a 5-0 record, with four wins coming from the No. 1 doubles position. Together, they hold the longest active win streak of any other pair on the squad.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos have lost their past two matches by an identical score of 6-1, with their most recent loss coming against Florida Gulf Coast on Monday (March 12). Barbare Eristavi earned a comeback win at No. 2 for the Broncos, defeating her opponent 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 to score the sole point for WMU. Eristavi is on a five-match win streak in singles play. The Broncos own a 14-2 all-time advantage over the Flames, and the last meeting between the two teams ended in favor of WMU, 7-0.

SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
Bowling Green took on No. 23 Ohio State on Tuesday (March 13) and suffered a 7-0 setback. The Falcons fell in straight sets in all singles matches, facing three nationally ranked Buckeyes. Bowling Green has a slight edge all-time, 13-10, but the Flames edged past the Falcons the last time the two teams met, 4-3, on Feb. 6, 2016. UIC is 5-6 when taking on Bowling Green on the road.

SCOUTING TOLEDO
The Rockets narrowly escaped UC-Irvine in their last competition on March 8, 4-3. Toledo managed to rally after dropping the doubles point, grabbing all four of its points through strong singles performances. The Flames are 10-3 all-time versus the Rockets, and defeated Toledo 5-2 on Feb. 7, 2016 when the two teams last met.

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.