Conway, Ark. - For the second straight day, the University of Central Arkansas thrived in their alternate home venue as they finished the UCA 1st Fall Invitational at the Conway Tennis Center.
After a successful day on Friday, it didn't seem like it could not get much better, but the Bears did just that as they finished the invitational undefeated (9-0) in doubles.
Flight 1:
Sophomore Fuka Nonoyama was not the only member of the UCA tennis squad that went undefeated, but she was the first. Nonoyama started her successful day early on as she defeated the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's No. 1 in three sets.
Flight 3:
After splitting the first day at 1-1 in singles play, junior Yada Vasupongchai focused on giving herself a winning record. She did just that as she took on UTC's Carolina Gibbens. In a three-set classic, she battled against Gibbens for a back and forth victory in the third set 10-8.
Flight 4:
Freshman Jaeun Lee continued her impressive run as she put together a 3-0 singles run. Her final victory came against UTC as she played with the continuing trend of going three sets. She took the first set 6-3, before falling in the second 6-4 and finally taking it 10-8 in set 3.
Flight 5:
Freshman Paulina Engback was able to come back after dropping both singles matches yesterday. She defeated Grace Anne Dunavant in three sets to make her overall record 1-2 on the season.
Flight 1 Doubles:
After defeating the UTC No. 1 doubles squad, the team of sophomore Chunxi Xin and Fuka Nonoyama turned their attention to the other two squads at the invitational. The dynamic duo dominated just as they did Friday by taking both matches against Missouri State and Louisana-Monroe 8-2.
Flight 2 Doubles:
The doubles success only continued as sophomore Mei Ishimura and Vasupongchai joined forces to defeat all three doubles teams. They had the closest matchup against Missouri State when they went into extra sets before taking it 9-7.
Flight 3 Doubles:
It only makes sense that the freshman pairing would follow the lead of their other doubles teams as flight 3 also saw an undefeated UCA doubles team. Maja Gledic and Sumomo Hamanaga took down two teams on the final day and did so by four or more games each time.
Quote from head coach Casey Wharton:
"I was very encourage from not only getting to play this weekend, but the quality, the weather was wonderful, the teams were competitive and everybody was healthy enough to play matches."
"I think there is things we can work on and get better at, but for the first tournament I am very encouraged and proud of our play."
Up Next:
The Bears have some time off as they gear up for the second UCA Fall Invitational Oct. 2 at the UCA Tennis Courts.
