UIC will begin play in the Horizon League tournament as the conference's #3 seed.  The Flames will face #6 Northern Kentucky in a quarterfinal match Friday morning at Purdue's Schwartz Tennis Center.

The Flames finished the regular season with a 4-2 conference record – their best mark since going 4-3 in 2011.  They won their first four matches, marking the team's best start since beginning conference play 5-0 in 2009.  Still in contention for the regular season title and #1 seed in the season's final weekend, UIC stumbled in matches at Youngstown State and Cleveland State, who finished the year as the top two teams in the standings.

UIC defeated the Norse, 5-2, in the Horizon League opener.  The teams have met in postseason play once before.  As the #3 seed, NKU defeated #6 UIC 4-2 in the first round in 2016.  The Flames will hunt their first tournament win since taking down Youngstown State in 2015.  Friday's winner will take on the #2 Penguins in a semifinal on Saturday.

The tournament is scheduled to take place outdoors.  Both quarterfinal matchups, UIC vs. Northern Kentucky and Green Bay vs. IUPUI, will start at 10 am Central.  If weather forces the matches to move indoors, the Flames will begin play at 8 am.  All matches during the tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Flames to Watch

• Johan Hedstrom was named to the All-Horizon League First Team on Thursday.  Niko Wasilewicz and Kasper Parlklo made the Second Team.
• Anthony Nguyen has won three straight singles matches and went 5-1 in conference play.
• Kailash Panchapakesan has taken two of his last three singles contests.
• Hedstrom and Parlklo went 4-1 in conference doubles action and won seven in a row late in the season.

Last Time Out

• With a share of the regular season title on the line, UIC fell to Cleveland State 6-1 last Saturday.
• Nguyen tallied the lone Flames point with a straight-sets win at #4 singles.

The First Meeting

• UIC won the first three points and went on to a 5-2 win over Northern Kentucky March 30.
• Hedstrom and Parlklo, and Marcelo Dib and Panchapakesan, were doubles winners.
• Nguyen and Hedstrom won their singles matches, before Parlklo clinched the victory and Pelle Strandberg followed with another win.

Scouting the Norse

• Northern Kentucky finished the regular season with one conference win, over last place Wright State.
• Nathan Schwartz earned first team all-league honors.  He was 3-0 in the #2 singles slot before moving up to #1, where he finished the year 1-2.
• Jorge Rodriguez went 5-1 in conference singles play in the #4 flight.
• Rodriguez and Aleksander Sadal won both of their doubles matches, over the top two teams in the standings.