UIC will take the first step toward defending its Horizon League championship, and aim for the program's 20^th overall title, Friday afternoon in quarterfinal action against Northern Kentucky.

The Flames dispatched the Norse, 5-2, in the Horizon League opener in early April.  NKU took the doubles point, but the Flames roared back on the singles courts, winning five straight matches to clinch the team victory.  Dominika Hrabalova, Ana Jover, Lea Forste-Dinell, Tamara Malazonia, and league Player of the Year Agnes Gustafsson were all victorious.

UIC went on to win their first three conference matches, before health and safety protocols decimated their numbers and caused them to lose two straight, one by forfeit.  The team got players back in time for the regular season finale against Oakland, which they won 4-3 to clinch the #3 seed.  NKU qualified for the tournament in their last match of the season, when they defeated IUPUI to break a tie with the Jaguars for sixth place.

The Flames are the two-time defending league champions, dating back to 2019.  No tournament was held in 2020.  In both of their runs to the trophy, they avoided a first-round match by finishing first in the regular season standings.  Their last appearance in the quarterfinals was in 2017, also as the #3 seed, when they were upset by Wright State.  UIC has never faced Northern Kentucky in tournament action.  The Norse are making just their second-ever appearance in the Horizon League bracket.

UIC had a league-high tying three players named to the All-Horizon League teams on Thursday.  Gustafsson earned First Team honors, while Jover and Malazonia made the Second Team.  Maria Koo was NKU's lone All-League honoree, making the first team, and she also received the Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award.

The winner of Friday's match will advance to play #2 seed Youngstown State in the semifinals on Saturday.  All tournament matches will be held in Ann Arbor, Mich. at Michigan's outdoor courts, with the adjacent indoor facility serving as the inclement weather backup.  The Flames and Norse will get under way at 2 p.m. Central.