The Eastern men’s and women’s tennis teams split their matches last weekend in their final tune-ups before facing Ohio Valley Conference opponents.

Both teams started the busy weekend by taking on Division III Washington University (Mo.) Friday night in St. Louis.

The men’s team fell 6-1 to the No. 13-ranked (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Bears. The Panthers recorded their only team point at No. 1 singles, with sophomore Charles LeVaque’s 6-4, 6-3 victory over junior Ari Rosenthal.

Eastern lost two-of-three doubles matches, with sophomore Brandon Lenfert and freshman Chris Thomas picking up the only win, 8-6. Lenfert and Thomas’ victory was the first for the duo, who were partners for the first time.

“It was a really good match and very fast moving,” Thomas said. “We had really good chemistry out there, and I love playing with (Lenfert).”

Thomas said the team, comprised of three freshmen, three sophomores and one senior, didn’t take the loss too badly.

“We’re a really young team, but it’s still disappointing,” Thomas said. “But, we’re still learning and still growing.”

The team responded to the loss by defeating IUPUI 5-2 in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Lenfert and Thomas won at No. 1 doubles along with the pairing of senior Eric Stuertz and sophomore Ryan Blankenbaker, who recorded a victory at No.3 doubles.

By winning two of the three doubles matches, the Panthers scored one team-point. The remaining six team-points were decided in the singles matches.

The Panthers won four of the six singles matches, picking up points at No. 1 (LeVaque), No. 2 (Lenfert), No. 4 (Blankenbaker) and No. 6 singles (freshman Sean Bush).

The Eastern women’s team got off to a strong start, defeating Washington 5-4. The Bears are No. 16 in ITA’s Division III rankings.

The Panthers got two singles victories from freshman Sandra Sasidharan at No.1 singles and sophomore Madina Mambetova at No. 3 singles.

The team trailed 4-2 heading into doubles’ play, but Eastern was still alive in the team competition, with Division III rules being enforced, assigning one team-point to each doubles match.

Knowing a victory was still attainable helped fuel the Panthers’ rally, Freeman said.

“It really gave us a boost knowing we still had a chance,” she said.

That boost translated into three-straight doubles wins and the team’s victory.

However, the women’s team couldn’t extend its success Saturday against Southern Illinois. The Salukis swept Eastern 7-0.

Freeman said the team lost a lot of its matches in dramatic fashion, splitting two sets before falling in a 10-point tiebreaker.

“It wasn’t our weekend,” she said. “It was a good opportunity for us to get out our ugly shots before conference.”