CHICAGO – The UIC softball team will head south to sunny Florida this weekend, making their 2020 season debut at the FGCU Invitational. The Flames are set to take on hosts Florida Gulf Coast in addition Memphis, Furman and No. 24 Arkansas. Competition gets underway on Friday, Feb. 14 and will run through Sunday, Feb. 16 down in Fort Myers, Fla.

BACK FOR MORE
The Flames will look to build off a successful 2019 season that included their fifth-straight regular season title, as well as its 15th Horizon League Tournament Championship appearance. The 2019 squad took home a program-best 20 conference wins and finished with the highest team batting average in program history at .323.
The 2020 squad was selected to finish at the top of the Horizon League for the fifth-straight year. The Flames took home seven first-place votes and 79 total points in the conference's preseason poll, as voted on by the League's head coaches.

FAMILIAR FACES
UIC returns 11 members and 240 of its 463 hits from 2019. Defending Horizon League Player of the Year and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List honoree Kayla Wedl is back for 2020 after an incredible 2019 season that saw the shortstop earn a spot on the All-Great Lakes Region First Team, All-Horizon League First Team and Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Wedl also picked up three Horizon League Player of the Week awards and took home an Easton/NFCA National Player of the Week Award for the second-straight year in 2019.
Also returning for the Flames are All-League Second Team Honorees Alyssa Griman and Cassie Kaelber. Griman finished 2019 batting .281 with 38 hits, 25 runs, 48 RBI and eight homers, while Kaelber hit .317 with 44 hits, 26 runs and eight steals in 2019.

IN THE CIRCLE
UIC also welcomes back three of its four pitchers from 2019, as Marley Hanlon, Jennah Speth and Allie Trudeau will all return to the circle for the Flames. Trudeau saw the most action in 2019, striking out 73 while allowing 85 earned runs in 138.1 innings pitched. Hanlon led the staff last season with a 3.70 ERA through 87.0 innings of work. Speth saw most of her action late in the season last year, amassing a 6-2 record while keeping opponents to a mere .214 batting average in her 50.1 innings.

NEW FACES
The Flames welcome six newcomers to the squad in 2020, as McKennah Ulrey, Alannah Cran, Samantha Ferguson, Christina Toniolo, Jordyn Cebedo and Mary Jones all kick off their UIC careers. Jones and Toniolo hail from nearby Chicago suburbs, while Cran, Ferguson and Cebedo all call California home. Ulrey is also from out west, calling Orting, Washington home.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Memphis competed in the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii last weekend, finishing with a 3-2 record to open its season. The Tigers picked up a win over Hawaii, while splitting two games each against Iowa State and Northern Colorado. Sarah Ann Davidson hit .455 in the first weekend, picking up five hits and five runs while driving in four. The Flames and Tigers have only met once prior, with UIC defeating Memphis 11-7 back on Feb. 12, 2016.

Furman went 1-2 in its opening weekend, competing in the Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech. The Paladins were victorious over Ohio in their opener but were then handed losses by UAB and Washington. Natalie Morgan paced the team with a .500 average, tallying four hits, two runs and four RBI. Morgan Smith appeared in the circle in all three games for the Paladins, racking up a 4.20 ERA in 10.0 innings of work while striking out a pair. Friday's contest will be the first meeting for the two teams since 1998, as the Flames hold the advantage all-time, 2-1.

Arkansas is listed No. 24 on both the NFCA Coaches Poll and USA Softball rankings after a 4-1 start to the season last weekend at the Troy Cox Classic. The Razorbacks took down UTEP, New Mexico State and Nebraska, while splitting a pair of games against Bradley. Sydney Parr led the offense with 10 hits and a .556 average in the first weekend, driving in four runs while crossing the dish six times herself. Autumn Storms was a perfect 3-0 through 9.2 innings of work, allowing zero earned runs and keeping opponents to a .200 average. UIC is 0-1 all-time against Arkansas, last facing the Razorbacks in 2001.

Host Florida Gulf Coast went 4-1 in its own FGCU Kickoff Classic last weekend, taking down Delaware, Boston College, Georgetown and LIU before dropping its finale to UConn. Johneisha Rowe batted .545 on the weekend with six hits and four runs to lead the Eagles, while Marissa Mesiemore and Sarah Lawton each picked up two wins in the circle. FGCU won the lone meeting all-time between the two teams, a 4-3 decision back on Feb. 13, 2016.

UP NEXT
The Flames will head west next weekend (Feb. 21-23) to compete in the Fresno State Invitational.