CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. – UIC's men's tennis team (9-13, 3-2 Southland) will compete in its first Southland Conference Championship starting Thursday, taking on the University of the Incarnate Word in the opening round.

The Flames finished in second place in its first year as members of the Southland Conference. While UIC and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tied in conference play with 3-2 league records, the Flames earned the second seed due to their 4-3 win in Chicago on March 10.

SCOUTING UIW
UIW has an overall record of 12-8 and a conference record of 1-4. The Cardinals only conference win was against the Flames in San Antonio on March 26. Gustavo Schwebel, Aleksa Bucan, and Jai Vallurupalli kept UIC within reach at singles after the team dropped the doubles point, but the Flames eventually fell 3-4. Players to watch on the Cardinals include juniors Joao Sasso (5-1 Southland) and Noah de Luna (14-1 overall).

HOT STREAK
A couple of Flames are on win streaks heading into Southland Conference Championship play. Aleksa Bucan has won eight matches in a row and has not lost since Feb. 26. He remains undefeated at No. 2 singles in conference matches. Bucan has paired up with Pelle Strandberg for the last handful of doubles contests, winning three out of four matches together. Miroslav Cvjetan and Jai Vallurupalli are on a run of their own at No. 1 doubles, earning victories in their last two together.

MATCH SCHEDULE
Thursday's match against UIW is set for 6 p.m. CT at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The winner will play either Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or Nicholls State on Friday, April 21, at 6 p.m.
 
Make sure to follow the Flames on Instagram and Twitter for updates throughout the tournament.