BEAUMONT, Texas - The University of Central Arkansas tennis program fell in the first round of the SLC Tournament after dropping four straight matches to Abilene Christian.

The Bears got the ball rolling early as they claimed the doubles point and two straight singles matches. However, they couldn't deliver the finishing blow as they dropped the next four in the 4-3 defeat. 

Doubles:
Similar to most of the regular season, UCA continued to pride itself as solid competitors in doubles play. The doubles portion would finish in order as the No. 1, 2 and 3 all ended one after the other. Starting it off was the best doubles team in the Southland Conference, sophomore's Chunxi Xin, and Fuka Nonoyama. The duo continued their SLC winning streak as they bested Nini Memishishi/Ileana Mocciola 6-3. The Wildcats would get back the point with a No. 2 squad win, but then it was up to the other all-conference duo for the Bears. 

Freshmen Jaeun Lee and Maja Gledic continued success of their own in the No. 3 slate. The pairing took it home for UCA as they won the matchup 6-4 to give the Bears the early 1-0 lead. 

Singles:
UCA started their singles run on the right foot as No. 2 Nonoyama started it out. Following her was the Bears No. 3 junior Yada Vasupongchai, who also extended UCA's lead. Nonoyama dominated and was the first to finish on either side as she won hers in two sets. She didn't allow her counterpart anything in those two sets as she won it 6-0, 6-1.  Vasupongchai performed a similar feat as she won hers 6-1, 6-1. After that victory, Vasupongchai increased her SLC winning streak to ten straight. With the doubles point and a strong start, the Bears held a 3-0 lead and was one match away from a second-round berth. 

ACU dispelled those hopes as they went on a strong run in the last four matches. The Wildcats claimed the first match in two sets, but the Bears would continue to hold firm in the next three, as they pushed each of them to three sets. The closest of the final three would be at the No. 1 spot as they went into extras in the third set. ACU's Memishishi would be the one to make the final impact as she won it on the 9-7 tiebreaker to finish the upset. 

Quote from head coach Casey Wharton:
"Today was close... as close as a match could be, and sometimes close matches go your way, and sometimes they do not. Today did not go our way, and I believe ACU deserves a lot of credit."

"While I am disappointed at the season-ending, I am still encouraged by the relentless fight and positive attitudes that our team played with all season long, including today. I think they did all they could do, and that's all any coach can ever ask."

"For now, we will go eat, and laugh, and tell stories about the season. Thank you to everyone who followed us and supported us throughout the season. We appreciate you all so very very much."