CHICAGO – The UIC women's tennis team (7-4) will head to Cleveland, Ohio this weekend to make its Horizon League debut at Cleveland State (1-5). The Flames and Vikings will square off in a pair of matches on Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14, with both matches set for a 9 a.m. CT start.

Just ahead of the start of conference action, the Horizon League debuted the results of the preseason poll on Friday, which is voted on by the League's head coaches. The Flames were picked to finish first in the conference, picking up 47 points and six out of seven first-place votes. Youngstown State followed with 42 points and one first-place vote, followed by Cleveland State in third with 34 points.

The Flames took on the challenge of three matches in a four-day span last week, coming away with three-straight wins to finish out the majority of its non-conference schedule. The Flames defeated both Chicago State (March 2) and Cardinal Stritch (March 4) by a 6-1 score before finishing out the busy week with a 7-0 shutout over city-foe Roosevelt (March 5).

Tamara Malazonia went 3-0 in singles action last week for the Flames, competing in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Malazonia defeated all three of her opponents in straight sets, earning her the first Horizon League Singles Player of the Week award of her career and the third for the Flames this season.

As a team, the Flames are 42-23 against their opponents in singles play so far, led by an 8-2 record from junior Ana Jover. Senior Georgia Gulin owns the second-most wins, boasting a 7-2 record in singles so far this season. In doubles, the Flames are 18-9 against their opponents, led by Agnes Gustafsson and Jover, who both own six wins when playing as part of a tandem.

Cleveland State last faced Bowling Green on March 5, taking a 4-3 loss. The Vikings are 14-22 as a team in singles, led by a 5-1 record from Blanche Lenoan. In doubles, Cleveland State is an even 9-9 against their opponents, with Lenoan and Kateryna Avram leading the way with a 4-2 record as a pair.

UIC owns a commanding 24-4 record all-time against the Vikings. The two teams last collided in the 2019 Horizon League Championship match, which the Flames took by a 4-0 score to earn their 18th conference title.