TYLER, Texas – The Central Arkansas tennis team finished regular season play on Friday afternoon when they defeated the Corpus Christi Islanders 4-1 on the road. The win improved the Bears to 17-7 and 9-2 in SLC play, tying them with the Northwestern State Lady Demons for second-best SLC record behind the Abilene Christian Wildcats. The Bears put themselves in a position to earn a share of the SLC regular-season title with impressive play over the last two weeks and will await the results of the Wildcats / McNeese Cowgirls match tomorrow.
 
UCA 4, CORPUS CHRISTI 1
 
Central Arkansas carried an early 1-0 lead into singles play and never looked back. Senior Rada Manataweewat found win No. 15 at the perfect time as she gave her team the early 2-0 edge with a 6-0, 6-4 win. The Islanders quickly responded with a strong win at the No 3 spot as senior Marli Van Heerden fell 6-4, 6-0 to make it 2-1. Freshman Chunxi Xin continued her SLC dominance at the No. 1 spot as she swept her opponent 7-6, 6-2 to push the Bears closer to victory. Xin improved to 8-3 in SLC play and picked up win No. 11 on the year. Senior QiLi Ma bounced back from a tough singles battle with the Wildcats and clinched the match for her team with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Play was stopped after Central Arkansas reached four as the match ended early.
 
In just their third appearance together as doubles partners, freshman Fuka Nonoyama and sophomore Yada Vasupongchai stayed unbeaten with a strong 6-0 win to begin doubles play. That was enough for the Van Heerden/Xin pairing as they won 6-4 to improve to 8-2 in SLC play and clinch the doubles point for the Bears.  
 
UP NEXT
 
With regular season play done, the Bears will set their sights on a deep SLC Tournament run that begins on April 25 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The tournament will last three days, with the championship match occurring on April 27. Make sure and follow @UCATennis on Twitter for updates on the tournament concerning your Bears.