CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas tennis program is set to hit the road to middle America to take on Creighton and Omaha this weekend for the last road trip before the home opener.
The Bears split two good matches on the road in Springfield, Mo. this past weekend. The day started off with a tough result against the Bears of Missouri State, falling 5-2. UCA got two big singles victories from Vichitraporn Vimuktananda and Fuka Nonoyama, but the rest of the Bears were not able to get the best of Missouri State.
The Bears then took on the Roos of Kansas City, and this time the Bears got the upper hand, winning 4-3 to salvage a great opportunity in the early season. UCA got doubles victories from the pairs of Sumomo Hamanaga and Vimuktananda and Harune Shigemasu and Konomi Miyakawa to take an early point on the road. Vimuktananda and Nonoyama each also got a singles victory against UMKC, as well as Miyakawa, who helped seal the victory over the Roos.
UCA also took on in-state foe Arkansas Tech on Wednesday and cruised to a 5-2 win while being able to rest its top two singles players. UCA swept doubles play to earn a crucial early point on the road. Freshman Seohyun Park was able to get her first action on the season, winning in both doubles and singles play. Ting-An Chen was also able to pick up a win, this time in the No. 4 spot in singles play.
The Bears lead off this road trip with Creighton, who started the season 0-2 with losses to Wichita State and Minnesota, the Blue Jays have turned things around with back to back victories against Minnesota State and Northern Iowa, each dominant 6-1 victories to stretch the Jays' record to 2-2. UCA has won the only ever matchup against Creighton, a neutral site match all the way back in 2017, so this will be a fresh opportunity for the Bears.
UCA then caps off the road trip against the Omaha Mavericks on Saturday. The Mavs have hit the ground running this season, and already have nine matches under their belt this season. However, the majority have not gone their way, starting with a 2-7 record with losses to Tulsa, Wyoming, Louisiana Tech, Illinois State, Drake, and Northern Iowa. The Bears are 2-0 all-time against Omaha, with the most recent coming in the spring of 2020, a 4-0 victory in Springfield, Missouri.
Things kick off for UCA on Friday, February 9th at 12:30 p.m. against the Creighton Blue Jays, then on Saturday, February 10th, the Bears face off against the Omaha Mavericks at 1:30 p.m.
