COPRUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Central Arkansas tennis team advanced to the SLC Championship for just the second time in program history after they blanked the Northwestern State Lady Demons 4-0 in the semifinals this afternoon.
This will be the Bears' second SLC Championship appearance in the last three seasons, as they fell in the 2017 championship 4-2 to the Corpus Christi Islanders. The Bears will also be seeking win No. 20 on the year, the most since 2017.
UCA 4, NORTHWESTERN STATE 0
The Bears started singles play with a 1-0 lead for the fifth match in a row on Friday. Freshman Chunxi Xin continued her strong No. 1 play with a 6-2, 6-3 sweep to advance the Bears to a 2-0 lead. Freshman Fuka Nonoyama handed Rhea Verma her first conference loss when she took the No. 2 court 6-3, 6-4 to get her team closer to the championship. Sophomore Yada Vasupongchai put the finishing touches on the sweep when she won court No. 4 6-4, 6-2 to conclude the Lady Demons' season.
Xin and senior Marli Van Heerden once again looked unbeatable at the No. 1 spot as they won 6-1 to start the day for the Bears. Vasupongchai and Nonoyama clinched the doubles point for the Bears with a 6-2 win to stay unbeaten in doubles play.
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The Bears will face the Bearkats of Sam Houston State in the championship as they edged top-seed Abilene Christian 4-3 in the semifinals today. The Bearkats were the only team to blank the Bears in the regular season when they won 7-0 on April 7 in Woodlands, Texas. The Bears were on the second night of a back-to-back and dropped three of the singles matches in three sets.
Sam Houston will enter the match led by SLC Player of the Year Sahaja Yamalapalli at the No. 1. The team also consists of First-Team Singles members at the No. 1 and 4, Second-Team Singles member at the No. 2 and Second-Team Doubles at the No. 3.
The championship match will begin at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Follow @SouthlandSports for match updates and @UCATennis for all things Bears.
