Conway – After seeing their match delayed for two hours and moved across town due to rain, the Central Arkansas Bears and Lamar Lady Cardinals. When the match finally ended, eight hours after it began, Lamar edged out the Bears 4-3.

Lamar (7-8, 1-4 SLC) and Central Arkansas (7-4, 2-4 SLC) played a tightly-contested match up and down the line, beginning with the battle for the doubles point. The Bears picked up a win in the no. 2 match, as Allison Murphy and Kelsey Williams scored a 7-2 win over Anna Spengler and Andrea Ivanovic. The Lady Cardinals secured the doubles point, though, as Katya Lapayeva and Carolina Maso defeated Nataly Yoo and Cassidy Crawford 8-5 in the no. 1 match and Stephanie Marchena and Hanna Elfving took down Kristina Horsikyan and Bianca Strukelj 8-5 in the no. 3 match.

Lamar and Central Arkansas continued their battle in singles play, with each team winning three matches and only two matches lasting just two sets. Yoo defeated Lapayeva 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 in the no. 1 match, while Horsikyan scored a 6-1, 7-6 victory over Ivanovic in the no. 3 match. Murphy scored the final point for the Bears in the no. 4 match, taking down Maso 6-3, 7-5. Lamar scored wins in the no. 2 match, where Spengler defeated Williams 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, and in the no. 5 match, which saw Elfving defeat Crawford 1-6, 6-2, 7-5.

With the match tied at 3-3, it all came down to Marchena and Strukelj, who put on a no. 6 match that perfectly encapsulated the match as a whole. Marchena took a 1-0 lead with a 6-4 win in the first set, but Strukelj evened it at 1-1 with a 7-5 win in the second set. The third set saw Marchena secure the victory for the Lady Cardinals, as she earned a 7-6 tie-break victory.  

"Today was a marathon," said Central Arkansas head coach Casey Wharton following the match. "We had to go indoors against a team that is very similar to us in level, and with only three courts we knew it would be a long day. The match started at 1:30 and didn't finish until 9:30. It turned out to be an emotionally exhausting day; both sides fought hard and cheered hard. We had our chances, and some things just didn't go our way. I am very pleased with our energy and effort, and, despite the loss, I am proud of the way we competed until the very end."

The Bears will return to the court tomorrow, playing host to Sam Houston State at 10:00 AM.