BATON ROUGE, La. - The Xavier women's tennis team returned to the court Sunday, opening its spring schedule with a 6-1 loss to Division I opponent Northwestern State at a neutral site. 

The Gold Nuggets (0-1) showed great promise in several matches, and McKenna Wheatley, playing as XULA's No. 3, won her match in straight sets against Athina Grigoriadou 6-3, 7-6(5). 

Xavier's No. 1 doubles team, Wheatley and Maja Brnic, played Northwestern's No. 1's, Grigoriadou and Honoka Umeda, to a 3-3 tie before the contest halted when the Demons secured the doubles point with wins in the other two matches. 

Xavier will next visit Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for a Saturday showdown with the William Carey Crusaders. Match time is noon.