Conway – The Central Arkansas tennis team returned to the court on Saturday afternoon, hosting in-state opponent Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Hendrix Indoor Tennis Center. The Bears earned their second straight sweep, taking down a short-handed Lady Lions squad 6-0.

The Bears (2-0) opened the day by taking both of the doubles matches to grab a 1-0 lead over the Lady Lions (0-3). Allison Murphy and Kelsey Williams took the no. 1 match 6-1 over Elizabeth Perez and Monica Arcos, while Cassidy Crawford and Kristina Horsikyan took down Destiny Jones and Tierra Poymer 6-0 in the no. 2 match to secure the point.

"Today was a good day," said Central Arkansas head coach Casey Wharton following the match. "I noticed that the girls were able to do many things we have been working on in practice and implement them into their matches."

In singles play, the Bears took all five matches in straight sets to lock up the sweep. Williams scored a 6-0, 6-4 win over Perez in the no. 1 match, and Crawford earned the point in the no. 2 match with a 6-3, 6-0 defeat of Arcos. Murphy took down Jones without dropping a set in the no. 3 match, and Amanda Alvarez mimicked the feat in the no. 4 match, taking down Poymer. Bianca Strukelj also matched the 6-0, 6-0 pace set by Murphy and Alvarez, defeating Kristen Moore in the no. 5 match.

"UAPB has some solid players on their team, but we were able to go out and take care of business and get another good win," said Wharton of the Bears' victory. "I am especially proud of Kelsey and Cassidy, who played tough opponents but were able to keep their composure and find a way to get it done. And we were able to celebrate the success of today's match with Bianca, who had a birthday this weekend."

Central Arkansas is back in action on February 7^th, hosting Southeast Missouri State at 11:00 AM at the Central Arkansas Tennis Courts. "Now we will plan to turn our focus to getting healthy and prepared for our next match," said Wharton.