Nearly 11 months after their last competition, the UIC men's tennis team will return to the courts Friday against DePaul.

The season's opening weekend will continue Saturday against Illinois State.  The back-to-back matches will give the Flames a good look at the 2020-21 squad, which features a mix of returning experience and new faces.

Anthony Nguyen, Pelle Strandberg return for their junior seasons, while Luiz Dos Santos is a redshirt sophomore with one year of prior experience.  Strandberg was the team's leading winner in singles play last season.  Nguyen and Dos Santos each had four singles wins, and paired together in doubles play three times.

Artem Iermolov, Casey Schrader, and Gustavo Snoeck Schwebel comprise the freshman class.  They bring a variety of accolades at the high school level.

Last season, DePaul bested the Flames 7-0.  In a close match a month later, Illinois State came out on top of UIC 4-3.  Strandberg was a doubles winner, and Nguyen won at #5 singles.

Friday's match, a home contest for DePaul, will take place at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness at 7:15 pm.  The match against the Redbirds is UIC's home opener, scheduled for 6:00 pm at Hinsdale Racquet Club.