Birmingham, Alabama – The Central Arkansas Beach Bears opened their 2018 season at UAB's Blazer Beach Duals on Friday, taking on Mercer and ULM. The Beach Bears picked up a pair of wins on the day, taking down Mercer 5-0 and edging out the Warhawks 3-2.
Central Arkansas (2-0) opened the day in dominant fashion dropping just two sets en route to a sweep of Mercer (4-3). After
Aly Brinkley and
Kimberly Schnars took the exhibition match from Elli Merchant and Sarah Stewart,
Mackenzie Dear and
Shelby Holmes opened things up for Central Arkansas, defeating Kylie Keeling and Emilee Wissmach 21-16, 13-21, 15-12 in the number five slot, before
Kristine Hjembo and
Colene Hamilton added a 21-15, 21-18 win over Lela McIntosh and Marina Chavez at the number four.
Jessica Martinez and
Stephanie Pollnow started things off out of the break, earning a 16-21, 21-16, 15-11 win over Amber Gibson and Gracie Garanich at the number threes, and
Delaney Driver and
MC Rogers scored a 21-19, 21-15 victory against Jessica Johnson and Elli Gibson in the number two tilt.
Haley Tippett and
Megan Nash then wrapped things up for the Bears, taking the first set of their number one match against Sophie Peel and Kacy Ogden 21-15 before holding on for a 27-25 win in the second set.
The day's second match was a different matter for the Beach Bears, who need wins at the one and the two to earn the match victory. Brinkley and Schnars again controlled the exhibition match, picking up a 21-10, 21-11 win over McKenna Webster and Alix Christie, but it would be ULM (5-5) who would grab the first point, thanks to 15-21, 21-19, 15-11 win from Holland Ponthieux and Taylor Meyer over Holmes and Dear in the number five match. Hjembo and Hamilton got the point back at the number four, taking out Allie Kemp and Bailey Smith 18-21, 21-19, 15-6 to send the match into the break even at 1-1.
The Warhawks would get a 21-14, 21-19 win from Maile Sellers and Kayla Gallant in the number three match to make both of the remaining matches must-wins for the Beach Bears, who saw Rogers and Driver deliver with 21-18, 21-14 defeat of Catherine Griffith and Rebecca Brown in the number two match to even things at 2-2 overall. Tippett and Nash would drop the first of their number one pairing 18-21 to Grave Convey and Gabby Love, before storming back for a 21-13 win in the second set. With the match hanging in the balance, the UCA's top pair took the decisive third set 15-7 to secure the win.
Central Arkansas returns to the sand once tomorrow, taking on Austin Peay at 12:00 PM.
