CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (5-5) will make its Horizon League debut this weekend, as they face Oakland on Saturday, March 24 at 10 a.m. CT and Detroit Mercy on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. on the road.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames endured three-straight road matches last week, facing Western Michigan, Bowling Green and Toledo. UIC edged out Western Michigan, 4-3, to start the trip, and was dealt a pair of losses to end the trip, taking a 5-2 loss to Bowling Green and a 6-1 deficit at Toledo. Rachel Le Comber went 2-1 on the weekend to lead the Flames in singles play, while Viktoria Seifert and Stefana Vasic had the most doubles wins, winning two of their three matches.

SCOUTING OAKLAND
Oakland also competed against a Mid-American Conference opponent last week, going up against Eastern Michigan. The Golden Grizzlies suffered a 6-1 setback, breaking a three-match win streak. Allison Motea notched Oakland's only point with a 6-4, 6-3 win in the No. 3 position. Amanda Nilsson and Sofia Borcuti defeated their opponents in No. 1 doubles, but Eastern Michigan took the other two matches and the doubles point. UIC is 3-1 all-time against the Golden Grizzlies, sweeping last season's matchup 7-0.

SCOUTING DETROIT
The Titans took on Eastern Michigan the day after Oakland, and was also handed a loss, 5-2. Detroit Mercy's Jasmine Apawti and Ksenia Providokhina recorded the Titan points, with Apawti winning 7-6, 5-3 at No. 2 and Providokhina easily taking the win at No. 4, 6-3, 6-1. The Flames own a commanding 24-3 all-time record against Detroit Mercy, and shutout the Titans in the last meeting between the two teams, 7-0.

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 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 March 11 with a 6-4 win from the No. 1 spot. The Flames went on to sweep the Redbirds, 7-0.

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.

UP NEXT
The Flames will return home to Chicago to continue Horizon League play against Wright State (March 30) and Northern Kentucky (March 31).