DETROIT (4/8/2015) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's tennis team will look to stay in the hunt for a regular season championship as the Titans prepare for a pair of road matches this weekend. 

Detroit will meet the Valparaiso Crusaders on Saturday, April 11, at Noon, and the UIC Flames on Sunday, April 12, at 11:00 a.m. 

The Titans stand at 12-8 overall and 4-1 in the Horizon League. The 12 wins are tied for the second most in school history with the 2004-05 squad (12-13) and the 2012-13 team (12-6), and trail only the 2008-09 unit that posted a 15-8 mark. 

UDM is currently in third place in the HL behind 4-0 Youngstown State and UIC. A win by the Titans over Valparaiso would clinch a spot in the six-team Horizon League Championship, while a top-two finish in the standings would give the red, white and blue a bye to the semifinals.

Sophomore Anna Davydova continued her torrid pace as she ran her winning streak to nine straight and is now 22-7 on the season. The 22 wins are tied for fifth in school history, one away from moving into a share of third, and four away from tying the school record set by Zeljka Minic in 2008 and current assistant coach Annie Moore in 2006.

Irina Slizovskaya is 15-14 on the year in singles. Viktoria Laskutova is third on the team with 11 wins, while Valeryia Kulikovskaya has posted 10. 

Valparaiso is 3-12 on the season and 1-3 in the league with its lone triumph over Green Bay, 5-2. The Crusaders have lost to UIC (7-0), Wright State (6-1) and Milwaukee (7-0). Megan Barthels tops the team with eight singles wins, while Cary Milanes and Paige Heuer have seven apiece.

UIC is 8-7 on the season and undefeated in conference action at 4-0 defeating Valparaiso (7-0), Wright State (4-3), Green Bay (7-0) and Milwaukee (5-2). Ann-Sophie Hahn and Jackie Altansarnai top the team with 12 singles wins, while Melika LeBlanc and Keti Mebuke have each recorded 10.  

UIC had won 17-straight conference titles prior to Detroit ousting the Flames in the first round of the tournament last season. The Titans also ended UIC's historic 17-year, 146-match HL winning streak in 2013 with a 4-3 win on the road. 

Horizon League Standings
Youngstown State     4-0
UIC                            4-0
Detroit                        4-1
Milwaukee                 3-2
Cleveland State         2-2
Oakland                     2-3
Valparaiso                  1-3
Green Bay                  0-5