CHICAGO – The UIC men's tennis team returns to action this week, as it will head to Kentucky to take on Louisville Wednesday before traveling to Normal, Ill. to take on Illinois State on Friday.
 
The Flames opened the spring portion of the 2023 schedule last weekend, when they traveled to Kalamazoo, Mich. for matches against Western Michigan and Butler. After a close 4-3 loss to Butler Friday night, UIC lost in straight sets to Western Michigan Saturday afternoon.
 
Louisville will be opening their 2023 schedule Wednesday against UIC, but the Cardinals have garnered some pre-season recognition from the ITA, being the first team listed as "Receiving Votes" outside of the national top-25 rankings.
 
The Flames will also be the first opponent of the season for Illinois State, who was picked fourth overall in the Summit League Preseason Poll. Along with a fourth-place projection, Illinois State freshman Tomas Valencia was named to the preseason Athletes to Watch List. The Santiago, Chile native was named to the 2022 top Mid-Major Men's class as well as holds a UTR ranking of 11.32 in his first season as a Redbird.
 
Wednesday's match against Louisville  is set for a 1:00 p.m. first serve, while Friday's contest at Illinois State will begin at 8:00 p.m.