CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (3-3) will end its three-game homestand by welcoming Illinois State to XS Tennis on Sunday, March 11 at 12 p.m. CT. The Flames are seeking their third-straight win, giving them a full sweep of their homestand.  

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames bested Northern Illinois on Monday, 6-1, to secure their first pair of back-to-back wins this dual season.  UIC swept doubles competition and took five-of-six singles matches in the defeat. All five singles victories came in straight sets, with Lejla Colic, Viktoria Seifert, Rachel Le Comber, Georgie Sanders and Amelia Guevremont delivering the wins.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
The Redbirds went 1-1 last weekend, defeating UKMC 4-2 on Saturday (March 3) before taking a 4-0 loss at Nebraska the next day. Illinois State went 2-1 for the doubles point against UKMC, and senior Valerija Gercar secured the win for the Redbirds in singles play, defeating her opponent across three sets.  

UIC & ISU: A HISTORY
The Flames are 8-11 all-time against ISU, with UIC taking edging out the Redbirds 4-3 in the last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 18, 2017. The Flames quickly grabbed two-straight doubles victories to earn the doubles point, and singles victories from Le Comber, Sanders and Bianca Zuzu gave UIC the win.

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.