Women's Tennis Falls in Tight Battle with No. 6 XULA

ALEXANDRIA, La. — The Texas A&M University-Texarkana women's tennis team pushed one of the nation's top squads to the brink on Saturday, falling just short in a 4-3 decision against No. 6 Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Nuggets at a neutral site hosted by LSU Alexandria.

The Eagles came out strong in doubles play, securing the early point with wins on courts one and three. The duo of Ana Gonzalez and Lucia Siddens set the tone with a 6-3 victory, while Andrea Castillo and Zahra Dreyer-Ferreira followed with a hard-fought 7-5 win to clinch the doubles advantage.

In singles action, the matchup proved to be a battle throughout the lineup. Lucia Siddens delivered a straight-sets win at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-3, to keep TAMUT in front. Andrea Castillo added another point in dramatic fashion at No. 5, rallying after dropping the first set to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Despite the strong efforts, the Gold Nuggets secured victories on courts one, two, four, and six to narrowly edge the Eagles in the final team score.

Texas A&M-Texarkana showed resilience against top-tier competition, competing evenly with one of the NAIA's best and taking the match down to the final courts.

The Eagles will have a quick turnaround as they return to the courts Sunday morning to face the No. 8 LSU Alexandria Generals at 11 a.m. in Alexandria.