Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo men's tennis team heads to Chicago for the weekend to challenge Chicago State on Friday, Feb. 22 and UIC on Saturday, Feb. 23. Both matches will begin at 6:00 p.m. CT.
 
The Rockets will look to rebound after suffering losses last weekend in Youngstown, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pa. The Midnight Blue and Gold dropped Friday's match against Youngstown State, 6-1, despite the senior duo of Luka Vitosevic/Omar Espinosa's 6-2 win in doubles and senior Vince Anzalone's two-set win in singles play. In Sunday's competition at Duquesne, the Vitosevic/Espinosa once again snagged a win at No. 1 singles, but their efforts weren't enough to take the doubles point. Espinosa and sophomore Tyler Gargas scored the Rockets' sole points in singles play, but the Dukes took the win 5-2.  
 
"This is a response weekend for us," said head coach Al Wermer. "We're improving in a lot of areas. We just need to keep fighting and be tough."
 
Scouting Chicago State
Last season the Cougars went 5-20, collecting wins over Saint Francis (Ill.), Purdue Northwest, Prairie State College, Roosevelt, and Howard. Chicago State was swept in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament by Grand Canyon 4-0.
 
Senior Felix Savard posted 11 singles wins last season at the No. 1 position. In doubles play, Savard had a 20-12 record with Christian Gonzalez. Savard is also tied with Gonzalo Martinez for ninth on CSU's NCAA Division I career win list with 31 and third for most career doubles wins with 41. Fellow senior Rohan Wattley produced a 15-18 singles last season, the second best on the team. Wattley is ranked 37th on the CSU Division I singles career wins list with 37 and is tied for seventh with Martinez for most career doubles wins at 26.
 
Chicago State is 3-9 this season, having swept Saint Francis (Ill.) 7-0 and Prairie State 7-0. The Cougars also edged out UIC 4-3 in January.  
 
Last Time Against Chicago State
The Rockets met Chicago State a few times in tournaments over the fall portion of the season. During the first day of the Purdue Invitational, junior duo Thawin Suksathaporn/Danilo Vukotic defeated Felix Savard/Gonzalo Martinez 6-3. The Rockets also encountered CSU at the ITA Midwest Regionals, where the senior duo of Vince Anzalone/Luka Vitosevic downed George Botha/Jakov Suler 8-4 in the doubles bracket.
 
The Rockets wrapped up their 2013 spring season with a 7-0 sweep of Chicago State on Apr. 21 in Chicago.  
 
Scouting UIC
The Flames were 6-13 overall and 3-4 in the Horizon League last season. UIC recorded 6-1 wins over Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Purdue Northwest, and Northern Kentucky. In the Horizon League Championship, the Flames fell 4-2 in the first round to Green Bay.  
 
Junor Kasper Parlklo led the team last season with a singles record of 8-11. Senior Marcelo Dib tied with junior Johan Hedstrom for second on the team with seven overall singles wins and led the Flames with four conference wins. Dib led the Flames in doubles with 12 wins, 11 of which were posted with teammate Niko Wasilewicz.
 
The Flames are 1-6 this season with their only win coming vs. Eastern Illinois by a 5-2 margin.
 
Last Time Against UIC
Vince Anzalone defeated Pelle Strandberg in two sets (7-6(1), 6-3) at the ITA Midwest Regionals during the fall portion of this season.
 
The Rockets last faced UIC on Feb. 12, 2006 in Toledo, where they defeated the Flames 6-1.