Conway – The Central Arkansas Beach Bears opened play in the 2018 Beach Bear Classic with a pair of victories on Friday, taking down Austin Peay 5-0 and ULM 4-1.

Central Arkansas (10-5) opened the day in dominant fashion, sweeping Austin Peay (7-9) without dropping a set. Shelby Holmes and Mackenzie Dear opened things up for the Bears, scoring a 21-13, 21-14 win over Kaylee Taff and Chloe Stitt in the number five match, and Delaney Driver and MC Rogers added a 21-9, 21-15 defeat of Ashley Slay and Cori Theiss to send UCA to the break up 2-0. Megan Nash and Haley Tippett continued the rout in the number two contest, taking down Nina Korfhage and Brooke Moore 21-7, 21-11, while Jessica Martinez and Aly Brinkley picked up their fifth win of the year with a 21-17, 21-13 win against Ginny Gerig and Cecily Gable at the top spot, before Kristine Hjembo and Colene Hamilton closed out the match by defeating Jenna Panning and Haley Turner 21-13, 21-14 in the number three tilt.

The Beach Bears continued their strong play in the day's final match, which Dear and Holmes opened with a 21-7, 21-6 win over McKenna Webster and Alix Christie in the number six match to push their record to 10-2 on the season. Hamilton and Hjembo then got UCA on the board with their 13^th win over the season, a 21-16, 21-13 victory against Bailey Smith and Taylor Meyer in the number five match, and Driver and Rogers closed out the half with a 21-16, 21-15 victory against Holland Ponthieux and Allie Kemp in the number four match to push their record to 9-6 on the season. Cat Grant and Becca Brown would give the Warhawks (8-11) their lone point on the day, scoring a 21-13, 21-17 win over Brinkley and Martinez, But Nash and Tippett got the point back in the number one contest with a 21-9, 24-22 win against Gabby Love and Grace Convey to move their record to 10-5 on the year. Stephanie Pollnow and Kimberly Schnars would wrap things up for Central Arkansas, dropping the first set of the number three competition 15-21 to Kayla Gallant and Maile Sellers, but rebounding to take the second set 21-18 and the third 15-13 to improve to 7-3 for the year.

Central Arkansas will close out the home portion of their 2018 schedule tomorrow, taking on Austin Peay at 11:00 AM and ULM at 1:00 PM. Following the conclusion of the ULM match, the Beach Bears will honor the careers and contributions of this year's senior class, comprised of Delaney Driver, Holmes, Rogers, Nash, Hjembo, Schnars, and Pollnow.