CONWAY, Ark. - The University of Central Arkansas dropped two close contests as they faced off against the University of Missouri in a doubleheader.

The Bears proved their potential as they took on power five prestige and came up one doubles match shy in their outings against the Tigers. 

Mizzou 4 UCA 3

Doubles:
The duo of sophomore Chunxi Xin and junior Fuka Nonoyama continued their string of dominance on their season as they added yet another victory to their resumes. To start the duel, the team battled the No. 1 squad of Goldin & Ventura from Mizzou. Both squads competed throughout the match with back and forth action until the Bears duo finally pulled the trigger to conclude the early action 6-3. The other doubles would go to Mizzou as they grabbed the first point that proved to be the difference-maker. 

Singles:
UCA played neck to neck with the Tigers throughout the singles play as they split the single's decisions 2-2. The day's highlight goes to the showcase that Xin and Missouri's Ventura put on to end the doubleheader's first leg. Heading into the final set both players had proved themselves as Xin had taken the first set in commanding fashion, while Ventura did the same in the second. Xin took the early lead in the ten-point tiebreaker as she cruised to a six-point lead. However, Ventura was not done as she promptly went on her own run to secure the score at seven apiece. Xin then mustered up her momentum from before a finished the match off on a 3-1 rally. 

Just like her partner Nonoyama made sure that she won her matchup in a final decision as she claimed a three-set victory in the second to last matchup of the day. Nonoyama took the lead early as she grabbed the first set before dropping the second and then finally dominating in the third. The No. 2 made sure that she showcased her ability just as she had done at the ITA Central Regional and put the match away 10-5. Junior Yada Vasupongchai took a different approach as she rode the momentum of a nailbiter in the first to force a one-sided second set. In the end, the Bears split the singles play, but due to the point being awarded in doubles play, they fell 4-3. 

Mizzou 4 UCA 3

Doubles:
The second match almost mimicked the first as the Bears dropped two of the three matches in the duel's doubles section. Similarly to the first leg of the doubleheader, the lone victory came from Xin and Nonoyama. The match was slightly closer this time around, but still, nothing to sweat as the duo took it 6-4 against a pairing of Nash and Goldin.  

Singles:
Almost all the characteristics that made the first match special were mimicked to the tee as multiple tiebreakers finished the day. Only two matches during the singles competition did not go into the third set, and out of those four in tiebreakers, UCA won three of them. The first match that UCA grabbed in a tiebreaker was Vasupongchais. This match was the closest of the three as two points decided the final set as she came out with the 10-8 victory to win it 2-1. 

The final two that finished the day belonged to freshman Sumomo Hamanaga and freshman Jaeun Lee. Hamanaga was the second to last to finish and provided a comeback to finish it off. After claiming the first set, she struggled to find the right rhythm in the second set. However, she was able to pick herself off and made some great plays to continue rallies that eventually led to points. She finished off the final set 10-4 and gave the Bears their second point of the match. Lee played it differently as her and Vazquez from Mizzou were neck and neck the whole match. Lee won the first match by two before falling in a tiebreaker in the second set. She eventually went on to the next set and was the last to finish. She then put her foot on the gas and took a commanding 10-3 victory to give the Bears their third point. 

Up Next:
The Bears will have an extended amount of time before their next matchup as they finished up the fall season with Mizzou. They will start the spring season off January 8 as they participate in the TCU tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Quote from Head Coach Casey Wharton:
"I would say that this is really positive in many ways, we got to play a good team and play them at home in beautiful weather. Even though we didn't win, we did have people play well and had some wins. Overall we competed hard and smart and gave ourselves chances, that was my main takeaway."