MIAMI (April 21, 2021) - The FIU women's tennis team opens the 2021 Conference USA Championship against UTEP on Thursday, April 22, as the undefeated Panthers look to make a run into postseason play.

Thursday's match will be played in Denton, Texas, as North Texas hosts the championship tournament this week. The winner of Thursday's match will face either sixth-seeded Marshall or 11th-seeded WKU on Friday at 2 p.m. ET. 

PANTHER OUTLOOK
Third-seeded FIU enters Thursday's match at 9-0, as the Panthers earned the program's first undefeated regular season in school history. The Panthers were ranked 45th overall in the latest ITA/Oracle Top 50 National Rankings. FIU's Marina Alcaide won all nine singles matches this spring, as the senior was ranked 107th overall in this week's ITA/Oracle Top 125 National Rankings. Andreea Velcea and Kamila Umarova only had one loss in singles, with Velcea earning an 8-1 mark and Umarova a 7-1 record this season. 

SCOUTING UTEP
UTEP enters the opening round of the C-USA Championship at 6-6 overall, with all 12 matches coming out of conference. The Miners have won their last their last three matches overall. Lina Sachica has earned an 11-11 record in singles play to lead UTEP.

UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's match will continue play in Denton, Texas, against either Marshall or WKU on Friday, April 23, at 2 p.m. ET.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUWTennis on Instagram and @FIUWTN on Facebook and Twitter. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram. 

2021 C-USA Women's Tennis Championship
April 22-25 | Denton, Texas | Hosted by North Texas
(All times local CT)

First Round – Thursday, April 22
Match 1: (8) UAB vs. (9) UTSA – 9 a.m.
Match 2: (7) Southern Miss vs. (10) Middle Tennessee - 9 a.m.
Match 3: (5) Florida Atlantic vs. (12) North Texas - 12 p.m.
Match 4: (3) FIU vs. (14) UTEP - 12 p.m.
Match 5: (4) Charlotte vs. (13) Louisiana Tech - 3 p.m.
Match 6: (6) Marshall vs. (11) WKU – 3 p.m.
 
Quarterfinals – Friday, April 23
Match 7: Match 1 Winner vs. (1) Old Dominion – 10 a.m.
Match 8: Match 2 Winner vs. (2) Rice – 10 a.m.
Match 9: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 5 Winner – 2 p.m.
Match 10: Match 4 Winner vs. Match 6 Winner – 2 p.m.
  
Semifinals – Saturday, April 24
Match 11: Match 7 Winner vs. March 9 Winner – 12 p.m.
Match 12: Match 8 Winner vs. Match 10 Winner – 12 p.m.
 
Championship – Sunday, April 25
Match 13: Match 11 Winner vs. Match 12 Winner – 10 a.m.