Natchitoches, La. – For the first time in nearly a month, the Central Arkansas tennis team took to the court, opening Southland Conference play at Northwestern State. The Bears suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the Lady Demons 4-1.
For the first time all year, the Bears (5-1, 0-1 SLC) failed to secure the doubles point, dropping two of the three doubles matches. Kelsey Williams and Allison Murphy remained perfect on the year, improving to 6-0 with an 8-4 win over Barbora Kallarova and Polina Ivanova in the no. 2 match. The Bears dropped the point, however, as Nataly Yoo and Cassidy Crawford dropped the no. 1 match 8-1 to Tatiana Larina and Nataly Krutova; and Kristina Horsikyan and Bianca Strukelj lost the no. 3 match 8-5 to Emily Kerr and Aliona Ladutska.
"Today was a battle from start to finish, and although we lost, I am so very proud of our girls," said Central Arkansas head coach Casey Wharton following the match. "We played hard, and we played with class, against a solid opponent on the road. I feel like we have nothing to hang our heads about."
In singles play, Northwestern State (2-7, 1-0 SLC) won three matches to secure the victory. Murphy was the only Bear to win her singles match, taking down Kallarova 6-3, 6-4 in the no. 4 match to move to 6-0 on the season. Williams and Horsikyan each suffered their first singles defeat of the season, with Williams dropping the no. 2 match 3-6, 2-6 to Krutova, and Horsikyan falling 6-3, 1-6, 1-6 to Ladutska in the no. 3 match. Strukelj fell to Ivanova 0-6, 1-6 in the no. 5 match to drop to 3-2 on the year. The nos. 1 and 6 matches both went unfinished with the Bears leading. Yoo held a 6-4, 4-6, 3-2 lead in the her match against Larina, while in the no. 6 match Amanda Alvarez held a 7-6, 4-6 lead over Kerr.
"The score may have been 4-1, but we were ahead in the two remaining matches, so I feel that we could have easily won the match," said Wharton. "I believe that we are a team that shouldn't be taken lightly, so the Southland needs to look out, as we're definitely a team on the rise!"
The Bears' match against Stephen F. Austin, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow as been postponed due to expected inclement weather in Nacogdoches, Texas. UCA will be back in action next weekend, hosting Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday and New Orleans on Sunday. Both matches are set to begin at 10:00 AM.
