KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Omaha women's tennis team split a pair of conference matches in its Summit League debut on Friday, sweeping Western Illinois 7-0 before falling 5-2 to Fort Wayne at Plaza Tennis Center. The Mavericks improved to 3-5 (1-1 Summit League) on the season.

In match one against Western Illinois, the Mavericks took the doubles point with wins at all three positions. At the top of the lineup, Alex Tran and Jacqueline Baude defeated Megan Pazdernick and Elana Berdichevsky, 8-3. Tiffany Hottman and Molly Matricardi followed at No. 2 with an 8-1 win over Holly Conlin and Yessenia Mejia, and Lindsay Weideman and Rachel Pierson rounded it out with an 8-0 triumph over Jessica Callahan and Jessica Theobald at No. 3.

Omaha then won all six singles matches in straight sets. Tran took a 6-1, 6-0 decision over Mejia at No. 1, and Matricardi posted the same score at No. 2 against Berdichevsky. Weideman tallied a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Pazdernick in the No. 3 slot, and Baude put up a 6-0, 6-0 score against Conlin at No. 4. Hottman's No. 5 win over Kristen Havelka with a score of 6-2, 6-3, and Pierson finished it off in quick fashion with a 6-0, 6-0 match over Ese Davis in the No. 6 position.

In the second contest of the day, Fort Wayne grabbed the momentum early with wins in all three doubles matches. The Mastodons secured all but two singles matches, as Matricardi took a thrilling 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7) win over Kristine Lindal at No. 2, and Baude came through with a 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 victory over Shustova at No. 4.

Omaha returns to action on Tuesday, March 19, meeting NJIT in a Spring Break tournament in Hilton Head, S.C. The match is slated to start at 8:30 a.m. (CT).

OMAHA 7, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
Singles
1. Alex Tran (UNO) def. Yessenia Mejia (WIU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Molly Matricardi (UNO) def. Elana Berdichevsky (WIU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Lindsay Weideman (UNO) def. Megan Pazdernick (WIU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Jacqueline Baude (UNO) def. Holly Conlin (WIU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Tiffany Hottman (UNO) def. Kristen Havelka (WIU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Rachel Pierson (UNO) def. Ese Davis (WIU) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
1. Alex Tran/Jacqueline Baude (UNO) def. Megan Pazdernick/Elana Berdichevsky (WIU) 8-3
2. Tiffany Hottman/Molly Matricardi (UNO) def. Holly Conlin/Yessenia Mejia (WIU) 8-1
3. Lindsay Weideman/Rachel Pierson (UNO) def. Jessica Callahan/Jessica Theobald (WIU) 8-0

FORT WAYNE 5, OMAHA 2
Singles
1. Anita Henestrosa (IPFW) def. Alex Tran (UNO) 6-1, 6-1
2. Molly Matricardi (UNO) def. Kristine Lindal (IPFW) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7)
3. Caterina Kiefer (IPFW) def. Lindsay Weideman (UNO) 6-0, 6-3
4. Jacqueline Baude (UNO) def. Miloslava Shustova (IPFW) 6-1, 2-6, 11-9
5. Theresa Neumeyr (IPFW) def. Tiffany Hottman (UNO) 6-1, 6-2
6. Marcy Huck (IPFW) def. Rachel Pierson (UNO) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. Anita Henestrosa/Caterina Kiefer (IPFW) def. Jacqueline Baude/Alex Tran (UNO) 8-2
2. Theresa Neumeyr/Miloslava Shustova (IPFW) def. Molly Matricardi/Tiffany Hottman (UNO) 8-3
3. Kristine Lindal/Marcy Huck (IPFW) def. Rachel Pierson/Lindsay Weideman (UNO) 8-2