CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas tennis team will look to build off its recent 7-0 win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves over the next two days as they will travel to Benton, Kentucky to face the host Murray State Racers, Wright State Raiders and Western Kentucky Lady Toppers at the Kenlake Tennis Center.
 
The Bears (2-4) will start play with the Racers (5-1) tomorrow at noon and conclude their road trip on Friday with the Raiders (0-3) at 9 a.m. and Lady Toppers (3-4) at 1 p.m.
 
MEET THE MURRAY STATE RACERS
 
The Murray State Racers reside in Murray, Kentucky and are enjoying early success through their first six games as they have won three in a row and five of their last six. The Racers will look to take the edge on the Bears in their all-time matchup mark as it sits at 3-3 after the Bears took a narrow 4-3 win in their last matchup.
 
Murray State's 1-3 punch of seniors Claire Chang, Sara Loncarevic and junior Stasya Sharapova combine for a record of 8-9 on the year while freshman Marit Kreugel shines at the No. 5 with an impressive 5-0 mark. She has also excelled at the No. 3 in doubles with redshirt-junior teammate Sara Bjork as they boast a 5-0 record as well.
 
The Racers were picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference and had two players land in the Preseason OVC Top 10 as Chang ranked third and Sharapova at No. 9.
 
MEET THE WRIGHT STATE RAIDERS
 
The Wright State Raiders reside in Dayton, Ohio and will arrive in Kentucky on a three-game skid after recently falling 7-0 to the Austin Peay Governors on February 8. The Raiders will face the Bears for the first time in program history and look to secure their first win on the year.
 
The junior class represents over half the Raiders roster and is led by Luisa Pelayo who was named Horizon League Women's Singles Player of the Week on January 28 after recording back-to-back wins at the No. 2.
 
The Raiders are in their first season under newly-appointed Head Coach Ben Roeser as he was promoted on November 21, 2019 after serving as assistant coach since 2017.
 
MEET THE WESTERN KENTUCKY LADY TOPPERS
 
The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers reside in Bowling Green, Kentucky and will make the two-hour drive to Benton after dropping their last four matches since starting the season 3-0. The matchup with the Bears will be the first time either teams have met in program history.
 
The Lady Toppers currently sit at a combined mark of 17-22 in singles and 8-9 in doubles while senior Lisa Friess boasts the best singles record at 5-1 and 4-1 at the No. 4. After a 3-0 start at the No. 1, redshirt-sophomore Cora-Lynn Von Dungern has dropped her last four and will hope to get back in the win column against sophomore Chunxi Xin in a potential No. 1 matchup. Friess and Von Dungern lead the doubles attack with a 3-3 mark at the No. 1 while junior Laura Bernardos and redshirt-sophomore Tristen Bryant-Otake boast a 4-1 record at the No. 2.
 
HEAD COACH CASEY WHARTON ON THE WEEKEND MATCHES
 
"The teams that we're playing are good and similar to our level. We're going to have to play well to win, but it's always great to have competition where we can measure what we've been practicing."
 
"Whether we're closer to our goal and keep going or we come back and reassess, we find out where we are and that's my favorite part of competing. We're excited."
 
KEEP UP WITH THE BEARS
 
There is no official word yet regarding live stats or a video stream for the matches. For updates, follow @UCATennis on Twitter.