CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (8-6) will welcome former Horizon League-member Valparaiso (5-8) to Chicago for a midweek matchup on Wednesday, April 4 at 10 a.m. at XS Tennis.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames split a pair of matches this past weekend, falling 4-3 to Wright State on Friday (March 30) before besting Northern Kentucky 5-2 on Saturday (March 31). The Flames and the Raiders were neck-and-neck Friday, with the final singles match of the day becoming the deciding factor. Against the Norse, the Flames swept all three doubles matches and secured three-of-four singles points by straight sets for their third Horizon League win of the season.

SCOUTING VALPARAISO
The Crusaders also faced Northern Kentucky last weekend, and were dealt a 5-2 loss to the Norse on Friday. Freshman Jelena Vujanic moved into a tie for 10th in program history for singles wins in a single season after sealing her 16th singles victory of the season. Vujanic defeated NKU's Maria Koo, 6-3, 7-5 from the No. 2 position. Valparaiso's only other point came at No. 4 singles, as Dao Sysouvanh took down Taylor Culbertson of the Norse, 6-2, 6-2.

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 wrap up the homestand with IUPUI on Saturday, April 7.