CONWAY, Ark. - The rain couldn't affect the Central Arkansas tennis program's agenda today, as the Bears had their sight set on celebrating their senior day with a win and a clinch of the No. 5 seed in the ASUN Tournament.
All of the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly to finish out the season, as UCA couldn't have asked for a better outcome in the 5-2 victory over Kennesaw State. Not only did they clinch the No. 5 spot, but the deciding point was generated by an outstanding comeback from junior (academic senior) Mei Ishimura. Ishimura found a rhythm when there wasn't any as she took a 6-0 set defeat and turned it into two 6-2 set victories to clinch the match. This turnaround was not the only senior highlight, as there was a bunch to showcase during the heated dual. All four seniors helped claim the doubles point as the squads of Chunxi Xin/Fuka Nonoyama, and Yada Vasupongchai/Ishimura won that initial doubles achievement with a combined score of 12-1. Following that, Nonoyama topped off her ASUN season with another victory to make her a perfect 9-0 on the year in the conference.
While the seniors were the ones to be celebrated today, some credit has to be dealt to the underclassmen that came out on top. Sophomore Jaeun Lee claimed her match quickly to extend the Bears' lead, as she won in straight sets (6-3, 6-3). The other player to note was freshman Sumomo Hamanaga as she rallied in the third set to finish the match and make the margin of victory even larger as they ended the regular season.
UCA 5 KSU 2
Doubles:
No. 1 Xin/Nonoyama vs. Muzik/Dean 6-0
No. 2 Vasupongchai/Ishimura vs. Lee/Taddia 6-1
No. 3 Gledic/Hamanaga vs. Pinedo/Unger 3-3, unfinished
Singles:
No. 1 Chunxi Xin vs. Muzik 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 Fuka Nonoyama vs. Dean 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 Jaeun Lee vs. Taddia 6-3. 6-3
No. 4 Yada Vasupongchai vs. J.Y. Lee 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 Sumomo Hamanaga vs. Unger 6-4, 0-6, 6-1
No. 6 Mei Ishimura vs. Pinedo 0-6, 6-2, 6-2
The Bears get the opportunity to travel to their first ASUN Championship Tournament next weekend as they are destined for a first-round matchup against the No. 4 seeded Liberty Lady Flames. This matchup has yet to announce a time but will be held Friday (April 22) in Fort Meyer, Fla., at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Quote from Casey Wharton:
"I would like to thank everyone that came out to support us. Senior day is a day to honor those that have been here the longest and put in a lot of work to make us successful. So I am excited to share that with the community. I was also proud of how we played, this is a good team, and we knew it would be close. We played super well in the doubles; the seniors Yada, Mei, Fuka and CC (Chunxi) all played very well. Singles, I thought there was a little bit of pushback from the other team. There were times that we lost focus, but we got it back. It was really good to see Fuka and Jaeun win in straight sets, and I was really proud that Sumomo, who has been working really hard to find timing and breakthrough, and today, I saw all the things that she has been working on, showed up in her match. The biggest thing that I would like to mention is Mei; when it mattered most, she came through, and I am not surprised, but some people would be, and they shouldn't be because she is a good bet."
