CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (14-6, 8-1 HL) will begin the quest for its 18th Horizon League Championship in program history this weekend at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind. The Flames earned the No. 1 seed and a bye into the quarterfinals after securing their second-consecutive regular season title last weekend, and will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between Wright State and Oakland on Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames brought home the regular season title for the second-straight year after beating Youngstown State 5-2 on Saturday (April 21) and sweeping Cleveland State 7-0 on Saturday (April 22). UIC ended the regular season on a seven-match win streak, dropping just one Horizon League contest all season.

FLAMES SWEEP HORIZON LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARDS
Following their successful weekend, the Flames were rewarded with a sweep of the conference's weekly awards. Lejla Colic was named Singles Player of the Week, and Colic and Georgie Sanders were awarded the Doubles Team of the Week. Colic outlasted both of her opponents this week from the No. 1 position, defeating Noelly Longi Nsimba 6-7, 7-6 (8), 6-1 on Saturday, handing Nsimba just her second loss in conference play on the season. Colic bested Cleveland State's Isabella Spindler on Sunday, rallying after dropping the first set to take the match by a final tally of 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. Colic finished the regular season on a four-match win streak.

Colic and Sanders defeated Sofia Macias and Tamraa Teufl 6-2 from the No. 1 spot on Saturday against Youngstown State, forcing the third match to be the deciding factor between the two teams for the doubles point. They secured the doubles point for the Flames on Sunday against Cleveland State with a 6-3 win over Isabella Spindler and Aleksandra Golawska. The two finished the regular season on a four-match win streak, and dropped just one Horizon League matchup all season.

COLIC, SANDERS, TULLY EARN POSTSEASON RECOGNITION
Sophomore Lejla Colic and junior Georgie Sanders earned a spot on the Second Team All-League, and head coach Shannon Tully was named Coach of the Year, the Horizon League office announced on Wednesday. Colic earned the first career postseason award of her career, while Sanders grabbed her second-consecutive All-League recognition. Tully took home the League's top honor for the 10th time in her 17 years at the helm for the Flames.

UP NEXT
A win on Saturday will send the Flames to the Horizon League Championship on Sunday, April 29 at 9 a.m. CT.