CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas Beach Bears opened the UCA Beach Invitational with a solid showing on Friday, picking up a 4-1 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor before falling in a hard-fought 3-2 battle against Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Beach Bear Sand Courts.

In the opening match of the day, UCA showcased depth and resilience, defeating Mary Hardin-Baylor in four of five flights. The Bears earned straight-set victories at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions, while the No. 1 and No. 5 pairs battled through three sets to secure wins. 

The No. 1 duo of Anna Linskey and Riley Melton started strong with a 21-14 first set before needing a decisive third to down Farrar and Northup, 15-11. In the No. 5 flight, Ella Weilert and Emmie Tidwell delivered one of the most thrilling finishes of the day, outlasting Sawyer and Perkins 17-15 in the third set after dropping the opener. Madelyn White and Kenzie Foley cruised to a 21-15, 21-9 win at No. 3, while Liliana Irizarry and Audrey Cathcart turned in a consistent performance to win 21-17, 21-17 at No. 4.

UCA's momentum carried into the afternoon matchup with Texas A&M-Kingsville, where three of the five scoring flights went the distance. The Beach Bears came up just short, falling 3-2 in a tightly contested dual.

White and Foley remained undefeated on the day, grabbing a straight-set win at No. 2, 21-17, 24-22. Irizarry and Cathcart also picked up their second win of the day at No. 5, bouncing back from a first-set loss to win 18-21, 21-19, 15-12.

Despite a strong opening set from Linskey and Melton at the top flight, TAMUK's Pollard and Huesca stormed back to take the next two, 21-6 and 15-9. At No. 3, Katie Atkinson and Naya Tan nearly pulled off the win, falling in a tight third set 16-14.

UCA will return to the sand Saturday morning for a pivotal 8:00 a.m. matchup against UT Martin before closing out the tournament with a Senior Day celebration at 3:00 p.m. against Hendrix College.

Match 1 - UCA 4, UMHB 1
No. Linskey/Melton (UCA) def. Farrar/Northup (UMHB) (21-14, 18-21, 15-11)
No. 2 Green/Thoms (UMHB) def, Tan/Atkinson (UCA) (21-12, 21-19)
No. 3 White/Foley (UCA) def. Clark/Adkins (UMHB) (21-15, 21-9)
No. 4 Irizarry/Cathcart (UCA) def. Hughes/De La Fuente (UMHB) (21-17, 21-17)
No. 5 Weilert/Tidwell (UCA) def. Sawyer/Perkins (UMHB) (19-21, 24-22, 17-15)
No. 6 Dickerson/Siewert (UCA) vs. Salas/Rojas (UMHB) (16-21, 23-21) 


Match 2 - TAMUK 3, UCA 2
No. 1 Pollard/Huesca (TAMUK) def. Linskey/Melton (UCA) (19-21, 21-6, 15-9)
No. 2 White/Foley (UCA) def. Harrington/Vasquez (TAMUK) (21-17, 24-22)
No. 3 McCarthy/Betsa (TAMUK) def. Atkinson/Tan (UCA) (15-21, 21-13, 16-14)
No. 4 Stiefer/Daugherty (TAMUK) def. Wellert/Siewet (UCA) (13-21, 21-13, 15-6)
No. 5 Irizarry/Cathcart (UCA) def. Presmanes-Garate/Williams (TAMU) (18-21, 21-19, 15-12)
No. 6 Tully.Layzell (UCA) vs. Evans/Freeman (TAMUK) (21-7, 21-15)