Jonesboro, Ark. – The Central Arkansas tennis team enjoyed its best win of 2020 on Saturday morning as they blanked the Arkansas State Red Wolves (0-3) 7-0 at the RidgePointe Country Club in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The Bears (2-4) carried a 1-0 advantage into singles play and dominated with four sweeps and two three-set wins in route to their first road win.
 
UCA 7, ASU 0
 
SINGLES – Sophomore Fuka Nonoyama got things going for Central Arkansas as she improved to 3-0 on the year with a smooth 6-3, 6-0 sweep at the No. 2 to give her team the 2-0 lead. Sophomore Chunxi Xin and freshman Maja Gledic followed Nonoyama's lead on the No. 1 and No. 3 court and grabbed 6-4, 6-2 and 6-3, 6-3 sweeps to clinch the match for the Bears. With the win in hand, the trio of sophomore Mei Ishimura, junior Yada Vasupongchai and freshman Jaeun Lee all enjoyed wins on courts 4-6 to complete the positive day for the visiting team.
 
DOUBLES – The pairing of freshman Paulina Engback and Ishimura started the morning strong as they took court No. 3 6-3. After the Red Wolves took court No. 2 6-3 and evened it at 1-1, UCA's best in Xin and Nonoyama notched the doubles point with a tight 6-4 win to improve to 4-2 at the No. 1.
 
HEAD COACH CASEY WHARTON ON THE WIN
 
"Today was a good day. I was excited about everybody's match on every court. I thought our energy was very positive, steady and consistent. I thought we were very intentional in how we played our points."
 
"I thought the match was a close match, we just managed to do a lot of little things well in big moments that helped us finish well. I was very proud of their effort, their energy and I'm excited to build on this and keep going."
 
UP NEXT
 
The Bears will enjoy a few days off before traveling to Paducah, Kentucky for a three-match weekend, starting with the Murray State Racers on February 13.