Corpus Christi, Texas – The Central Arkansas tennis team made history on Saturday afternoon when they defeated the Sam Houston State Bearkats 4-2 to win the SLC Tournament for the first time in program history. It was win No. 20 for the Bears, their most since 2017.
 
Throughout the tournament, the Bears had to face the two opponents that handed them their only losses in conference play during the regular season. The Bears had sour memories of the Bearkats as they were the only team to blank them on the court.
 
The Bearkats entered the final match with the SLC player of the year, 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.
 
It was no easy task, and yet Central Arkansas won the championship anyways.
 
UCA 4, SHSU 2
 
For the sixth match in a row, the Bears started with a 1-0 lead heading into singles play. QiLi Ma brought her senior experience and took the No. 5 court 6-2, 6-2 to give her team the early 2-0 lead. The Bearkats immediately struck back on the No. 4 court, as sophomore Yada Vasupongchai fell 6-1, 7-5 to make it 2-1. Senior Marli Van Heerden delivered her best performance of the SLC Tournament at the No. 3 as she won 6-2, 7-5 to get one step closer to the trophy. The Bearkats refused to go away though as they took the No. 6 court in three sets and made it 3-2.
 
The spotlight shifted to the No. 1 court as Freshman of the Year Chunxi Xin battled SLC Player of the Year Yamalapalli Sahaja. After Xin took the first set 6-1, Sahaja responded with a 6-3 win to make it 1-1. Xin showed zero freshman nerves in set three as she blanked Sahaja 6-0 to crown her team as SLC Tournament Champions.
 
Vasupongchai and freshman Fuka Nonoyama started doubles action with a 6-0 win at the No. 3 to finish unbeaten in SLC tournament play. With the No. 1 court matchup going down to the wire, Ma and senior Rada Manataweewat took care of business at the No. 2 court and won 6-4 to clinch the much-needed doubles point for the Bears.
 
UP NEXT
 
Everyone is invited to the Bear Hall Suites on Monday night as the Bears will learn their first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will begin at 5:30 p.m. on NCAA.com and all fans are welcome to watch with the team.