CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (7-5, 2-0 HL) will return to Chicago to face Wright State (12-9, 1-0 HL) and Northern Kentucky (1-5, 0-1 HL) this weekend. The Flames will take on the Raiders on Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m. CT before battling the Norse on Saturday, March 31 at 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at XS Tennis.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames made their Horizon League debut last weekend and went 2-0 with victories over Oakland and Detroit Mercy. UIC edged past the Golden Grizzlies on Saturday (March 24), 4-3, and bested the Titans on Sunday (March 25) by a final score of 6-1. Melika LeBlanc was undefeated in singles with a pair of straight set victories, and joined up with Rachel Le Comber in doubles play to clinch the doubles point for the Flames in both matches.

SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE
Wright State notched a pair of 7-0 sweeps on Sunday against St. Bonaventure and Ohio Northern. Against St. Bonaventure, the Raiders took all of their singles victories in straight sets and won two doubles matches by an identical score of 6-2 to take the third match by default. Versus Ohio Northern, Wright State also posted straight set victories throughout singles play, including a trio of straight-set shutouts, 6-0, 6-0.

SCOUTING NORTHERN KENTUCKY
The Norse last faced Wright State on Saturday, taking a 5-2 loss. Northern Kentucky registered its two points at the top of singles play, with Margita Sunjic and Maria Koo winning their respective singles matches at No. 1 and No. 2. In the third position, Sydney Power forced a third set, but ultimately came up short. Sunjic, Koo and Power all lead the Norse this season with two singles wins apiece.

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 continue the homestand on Wednesday, April 4 against Valparaiso.