VALPARAISO, Ind. -- The Omaha women's tennis team returned to action Friday after a short break, falling 4-3 to Valparaiso and 6-1 to conference foe IUPUI on the road. The Mavericks are now 2-5 (0-1 Summit League) on the year.

MATCH 1: VALPARAISO 4, OMAHA 3
Omaha began the day by securing the doubles point after freshman Michelle Lo and senior Jacqueline Baude won their pairing at No. 1, 6-2. Sophomores Hylan Miller and Allison Johnson also won their match at the No. 3 position, 7-5.

“We showed great energy in doubles and it helped us compete across the board,” head coach Mike Saniuk said.

The Mavericks continued their success as they moved on to singles action. At No. 1, Lo held her ground by defeating Kaitlin Hamel, 6-0, 6-2. Valparaiso then tallied its first points of the match at No. 4, after Paige Hever defeated sophomore Rebecca Stafford, 6-3, 6-0, and Kathleen Hebble topped Molly Matricardi, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2.

With the match knotted up at 2-2, Valparaiso secured the go-ahead point after Johnson was defeated by Michele Fredlake at No. 6, 6-3, 6-3. Sophomore Kenzie Hill tied the match at 3-3 after picking up a win in the No. 5 slot, 6-3, 6-4 to Megan Barthes.

“Kenzie really stepped up today," Saniuk said. "She did a great job of transitioning from defense to offense in singles, and that was crucial for us."

The last match to finish was at the No. 3 position, where Baude fell in three sets to Cary Milanes, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. With the win, the Crusaders picked up the final point of the match and defeated the Mavericks, 4-3.

MATCH 2: IUPUI 6, OMAHA 1
Omaha also opened up conference play in the afternoon match, facing IUPUI for a neutral-site contest.

The Mavericks recorded one victory at No. 2 doubles with Matricardi and Hill, 8-3, over Abbey Neff and Marina Schneiger. The Jaguars, however, took wins at Nos. 1 and 3 to earn the doubles point for a 1-0 advantage.

IUPUI then went on a run during singles play, securing five straight wins at the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 positions. Omaha picked up one point in the final singles matchup, as Miller earned her first solo victory of the year with a score of 6-0, 6-4 over Rachael Bridegroom.

Omaha returns home next week, hosting Denver for a conference match on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 1 pm at Miracle Hill Golf and Tennis Center.