Jacksonville, Fla. – The University of Central Arkansas tennis program survived to see another match, as it defeated Lipscomb in the ASUN Championship first round.
UCA, now 12-9, defeated the Bears in back-to-back weekends in impressive showings in both matchups. This time, the Bears started down 1-0 after doubles, despite a dominant performance from Jaeun Lee and Nicole Ross. Sumomo Hamanaga and Konomi Miyakawa had an opportunity for UCA to take the match and secure an early point, but they ultimately fell, and therefore the Bears also fell behind early.
UCA got on the board behind another great effort by the freshman Miyakawa, who downed Lipscomb's No. 5 singles player in back-to-back weeks. The Bears would then even things up at two apiece behind the effort of Nanoka Kazama, who improved her singles record to 10-9. The Bears wouldn't look back from there, as Vichitraporn Vimuktananda and Hamanaga each got wins to secure another UCA victory.
UCA now moves on and faces a daunting task in North Florida, the No. 1 seed in the ASUN tournament. The Ospreys, sitting at 15-6 and 7-1 in conference, boast some great wins over the course of this season. UNF has defeated Georgia Southern, Kansas State, Florida Gulf Coast, and blanked both Jacksonville State and North Alabama in ASUN play as well. Last year, the Ospreys took down UCA in Jacksonville in the first ever meeting between the two clubs. UCA faces a large challenge, but the team has matured over the course of this season and should be up for the task.
The Bears and Ospreys will face off at 10:00 a.m. CT on Sunday, April 16th in Jacksonville, Florida for the ASUN Quarterfinals.
