CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Toledo women's tennis team stayed on the heels of the defending Big East Champions Xavier but were ultimately defeated 4-3 on Saturday evening.

With a win at Dayton on Friday, the Rockets ended their season-opener road weekend with split.

"This was an absolute battle of a college tennis match," head coach Tracy Mauntler said of the Xavier match. "I'm incredibly proud of the way my players competed in singles today. It was great for the freshmen to be part of a match of this high level so early on in the season. If this is what we have to build on, I'm incredibly confident of what we will be able to do once everyone is healthy."

Xavier, which was a first-round 2023 NCAA Tournament team, took a 1-0 match lead into singles play after winning all three doubles courts. Senior Cassie Alcala and sophomore Sanjana Tallamraju pushed Toledo ahead with wins from the No. 1 and No. 3 courts, respectively, until the Musketeers won the bottom two courts to take the lead again. Senior Shalini Tallamraju won the No. 2 court in three sets to tie the match at 3-3, but Xavier won the deciding No. 4 court to secure the victory.

Toledo (1-1) will play one more match on the road at Cleveland State on Friday, Feb. 3 before hosting UIC on Sunday, Feb. 4 for its first home match of the season.

Xavier 4, Toledo 3
Singles
1. Cassie Alcala (TOL) def. Imani Graham (XAV) 6-1, 6-2
2. Shalini Tallamraju (TOL) def. Anna Roggenburk (XAV) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
3. Sanjana Tallamraju (TOL) def. Abby Nugent (XAV) 6-2, 6-2
4. Abigail Siminski (XAV) def. Gaby Rondon (TOL) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
5. Sofia Mazzucato (XAV) def. Julia Kuszynski (TOL) 6-2, 6-2
6. Emily Flowers (XAV) def. Jone Ibanez (TOL) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
1. Imani Graham/Anna Roggenburk (XAV) def. Julia Kuszynski/Sanjana Tallamraju (TOL) 6-4
2. Abby Nugent/Ellie Brotherton (XAV) def. Cassie Alcala/Gaby Rondon (TOL) 6-3
3. Emily Flowers/Sofia Mazzucato (XAV) def. Shalini Tallamraju/Audrey Moutama (TOL) 6-4