CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas tennis program is set to host two ASUN foes this weekend, looking to improve their conference record from 0-2 this season. Overall, the Bears are sitting at 8-8 on the season, and the Bears have an excellent opportunity to get a good weekend to get back to .500 in ASUN play.
The Bears got a good midweek win against the Harding Bisons, helping them even their record on the season. Vichitraporn Vimuktananda continued to have a stellar season, winning in three sets over the Bisons' No. 1 singles player. A key to matches this season has been UCA getting a doubles point, which they have done several times as of recent. Ting-An Chen stepped up in the No. 6 spot for UCA, which she has done several times this season already.
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels have opened this season with a 9-11 record so far. EKU has collected big wins over Ball State, Bellarmine, Queens, and Northern Kentucky. The Colonels do have a sub .500 record, however the level of talent EKU has faced is noteworthy, as they have dropped matches to in-state foes in Kentucky and Louisville. The Bears and Colonels have only faced off once, a 6-1 Bears win last March, so the Bears will look to make it a 2-0 lead in the series tomorrow.
UCA's Saturday opponent, the Queens Royals, have had less luck on the season so far. Queens comes in to this weekend with a 0-11 record overall and a 0-4 ASUN mark. So far in conference play, the Royals have faced Florida Gulf Coast, Bellarmine, Austin Peay, and Eastern Kentucky. All of the Royals' conference matchups have not been extremely close, so the Bears should have a chance to pick up a conference win this weekend. UCA and Queens have never faced each other, although the two have been in the same conference for a little bit, so while UCA has no history to go off of, the Bears shouldn't need a rivalry to go out and compete this weekend.
UCA is slated to take on Eastern Kentucky on Friday, March 22nd at 10:00 a.m. and then Queens on Saturday, March 23rd at 11:00 a.m. To keep up with all things UCA tennis, follow @UCATennis on Twitter/X.
