CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas tennis program faced another tough conference opponent on Sunday afternoon. The Bears fell behind early and weren't able to overcome the deficit, falling to Jacksonville State at home, 6-1.
Nicole Ross and Jaeun Lee won their second straight conference doubles match, but the other two pairs ultimately fell to the Gamecocks. For the Lee and Ross, it puts them at 5-4 as a pair on the year. Going a game a above .500 as a tandem before a tough trip to Florida next weekend is huge for the pair of the most experienced Bears.
Vichitraporn Vimuktananda won her second straight match with relative ease, putting her at 2-0 in conference and 6-3 this year. She has really stepped in for UCA and has come into her own as of late. Another freshman in Nanoka Kazama gritted her way to another win on the weekend. Kazama now sits at 7-6 on the campaign, and is 2-0 in conference.
With the loss, UCA now sits at 7-6 on the season and falls to 1-1 in ASUN play.
UCA 2 JSU 5
Doubles:
Nanoka Kazama / Vichitraporn Vimuktananda vs. Ramenskaja/Mosse 6-4
Konomi Miyakawa / Sumomo Hamanaga vs. Pavelekova/Syrova 7-5
Jaeun Lee / Nicole Ross vs. Shastova/Artigas 6-2
Singles:
Lee vs. Shastova 7-5, 6-3
Vimuktananda vs. Mosse 6-1, 6-3
Hamanaga vs. Syrova 6-2, 6-2
Kazama vs. Ramenskaja 7-5, 6-1
Miyakawa vs. Prato 6-1, 6-1
Chen vs. Pavelekova 6-3, 6-1
Next weekend, UCA heads down to Florida to continue conference play. They play Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, March 17th at 4:00 p.m. Then on Sunday, March 19th, UCA will take on Stetson at 10:00 a.m.
