WICHITA, Kan. — Heading into the homestretch of the spring season, the Newman men's and women's tennis teams face their most challenging two-day stretch of the year, travelling to face St. Mary's and St. Edward's Friday and Saturday.

The No. 43 Jet women (13-3, 2-0 Heartland) have won nine of their last 10 matches and are coming off of a 7-2 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith Saturday that kept them undefeated in Heartland Conference play.

Their challenge begins Friday against the No. 12 Rattlers (11-3, 1-0 Heartland), who are also the top team in the South Central region. StMU features a pair of singles players that are ranked in the top 50 in the country, and their top two doubles teams are both inside the top 20. Newman follows that up against the No. 41 Hilltoppers (12-4, 2-0 Heartland), who are ranked fourth in the region, one spot above the Jets. SEU puts three singles players in the top 20 in the regional rankings.

The Jet men (6-8, 2-0 Heartland) snagged a 6-3 win over UAFS on Saturday to remain undefeated in conference play, and their already tough schedule doesn't get any easier this weekend.

The No. 27 Rattlers (9-9, 1-0 Heartland) own a sweep of Dallas Baptist to start their league season, and are ranked third in the South Central region, three spots higher than Newman's spot in sixth. Three of their singles players are in the top 13 of the regional rankings, and their top doubles team is No. 22 in the country.

Following that up with a matchup against the No. 33 Hilltoppers (7-10, 2-0 Heartland), the Jets will see three of the top 15 singles players in the region, and the No. 20 doubles team in the country.