Jan. 27, 2006

Chicago, Ill.- The University of Illinois at Chicago women's tennis team begins their quest for an unprecedented tenth consecutive conference championship this weekend, as the Flames open the 2006 season against Colorado State in Lincoln, Neb., this Saturday.

Saturday's match begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Woods Tennis Center.

UIC (13-11 overall, 10-0 Horizon League in 2005) will wrap up the weekend with a dual match versus the host Cornhuskers on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

The Flames return all six regulars from last year's NCAA Tournament squad and added some quality depth in junior Callan Smith, the younger sister of 2005 All-Horizon Leaguer Molly Smith and formerly a top player at Marquette.

2005 All-Horizon Leaguers Corey Steven, Iris Jaklin and Melanie Humphrey also return, along with league Newcomer of the Year Grace Gill-Morlis and junior standout Christina Oum.

Head Coach Shannon Tully comes into the 2006 dual match campaign with an impressive 63-37 overall record in four years as the top mentor of the Flames, including a perfect 39-0 record against Horizon League foes. She is the only coach in the program's history to win four conference titles and earn four NCAA Tournament bids.

UIC has won the last nine Horizon League titles and has earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the past seven seasons.