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May 2, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - The University of Illinois at Chicago women's tennis team will play Northwestern, the 16th seed, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it was announced via a live web cast on Thursday evening.

The Flames (17-11) will meet up with the Wildcats (21-5) for the second consecutive season in Evanston on Saturday, May 11, at 2:00 p.m.

Date and times have not been announced.

Last year, Northwestern knocked off the Flames, 4-0 in first round action.

"It is exciting to see your name on the bracket," said head coach Shannon Tully. "I am excited to play Northwestern. It will be a challenging match, but our goal is to compete and I think we'll do that."

Also in the Flames' bracket, is top-seeded Florida versus Central Florida, Florida International against Miami (FL), and Tully's alma mater, the Wisconsin Badgers, taking on Notre Dame, which will also be played at Northwestern.

The bottom half of UIC's bracket pits Wake Forest against American, Clemson versus William & Mary, Texas against Texas-San Antonio and Texas Christian taking on the Aggies of Texas A&M.

The Flames advanced to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of winning the Horizon League Tournament crown on Sunday, their sixth consecutive league title, giving them the league's automatic bid.

Northwestern is the Big Ten Tournament champion, and is currently ranked 15th in the nation.

Be sure to check out the latest edition of match notes in order to prep yourself for this weekend's action in Evanston.