Bears Tennis Defeats Nebraska-Omaha, Falls to Drake and NIU

Courtesy University of Central Arkansas Athletics Department

The Central Arkansas tennis team traveled to Des Moines, Iowa this weekend to play a trio of matches. On Saturday, the Bears split with Drake and Nebraska-Omaha, falling to Drake 6-1 and sweeping Nebraska-Omaha 7-0. On Sunday, Central Arkansas fell 6-1 to Northern Illinois. 

Against Drake (4-6), Central Arkansas (6-8) took one of the three doubles matches. Anna Buyukyan and Kristina Horsikyan defeated Ali Patterson and Mariel Ante by a score of 8-7. In singles play, only Krizia Buck was able to score a victory, defeating Jordan Eggleston by a score of 6-7, 7-5, 11-9. 

Against Nebraska-Omaha (2-3), Central Arkansas failed to drop a match. In doubles play, the Bears took all three matches to earn the point. Allison Murphy and Simona Horsikyan defeated Alex Tran and Jacqueline Baude by a score 8-6 for their first victory of the season. Krizia Buck and Sasha Ruocco took down Tiffany Hottman and Molly Matricardi 8-5 to get the victory in their first match as a pairing. In the final doubles match, Anna Buyukyan and Kristina Horsikyan got the 8-5 victory over Emily and Rachel Pierson for their tenth victory.

In singles play, Simona Horsikyan earned her seventh victory of the season, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tran. Allison Murphy improved to 9-5 on the season with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Matricardi. Kristina Horsikyan got her fifth victory, a 6-0, 6-2 win against Emily Pierson. Krizia Buck moved to 9-5 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Sasha Ruocco earned her fifth victory in a 6-2, 6-0 win over Baude. Bianca Strukelj got her second victory with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 victory over Hottman.

On Sunday, the Bears dropped all three doubles matches against Northern Illinois (11-1). In singles play, Murphy was the only player able to score a victory. She defeated Hayle Dekkinga 6-3, 6-1.

Central Arkansas returns to the court on Saturday, making a return to Southland Conference play by hosting Southeastern Louisiana. On March16, the Bears will host Northwestern State, and on March 17 Stephen F. Austin will travel to Conway.