Cyclones Brace for Battle Against Ranked BYU and Texas Tech

The Iowa State Cyclones women’s tennis team is readying for a stern test this week as they host a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in No. 35 BYU and No. 27 Texas Tech at home courts in Ames.

The upcoming contests mark the first home matches of conference play for the Cyclones, who currently hold a 2-8 overall record and an 0-3 mark in Big 12 action. While the wins have been hard to come by so far this spring, the level of competition is about to ratchet up several notches.

First up is the clash with BYU on Thursday at noon CT. The Cougars roll into town sporting an 11-2 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference play. Their lone ranked singles player is No. 74 Yujia Huang, who has compiled a 16-9 record so far this season.

Then on Saturday at 11 AM CT, Iowa State will square off against the 27th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. The visitors from Lubbock boast an impressive 10-5 overall record and a 3-1 conference mark. Their lineup features No. 85 Cristina Tiglea in singles, fresh off earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors. The Red Raiders also bring the No. 7 doubles duo of Metka Komac and Avelina Sayfetdinova.

For the Cyclones, freshman standout Ashlee Narker looms as a key player to watch this weekend. The Aussie native from Saint Ives is coming off a hard-fought three-set victory over Kansas’ Kyoka Kubo in the team’s last outing, moving her dual season singles record to 3-4.

Narker has been holding down the No. 3 singles spot and pairs with Valeska San Martin at No. 2 doubles, where the rookie tandem is 3-4 on the year. Her ability to grind out wins in both singles and doubles could prove pivotal as Iowa State aims to score some upsets.

Another Cyclone making noise is junior Anna Supapitch Kuearum. The talented netter has captured four of her last five singles matches, including impressive wins over the 58th and 85th-ranked players nationally. Her lone loss during that stretch came in a three-set super-breaker against Oklahoma State’s No. 9-ranked player.

With a pair of opportunities to knock off Top 35 teams, the motivation is high for Kuearum and the Cyclones to raise their level and score a signature win or two on their home courts this week.

While the journey through the rugged Big 12 schedule has been rocky so far, the upcoming homestand provides a golden opportunity for Iowa State to reset and start stacking some conference wins. Facing off against elite programs like BYU and Texas Tech is exactly the type of challenge this scrappy Cyclone squad relishes.

As the temperatures slowly rise across the Midwest, you can expect the intensity to be cranked up a notch or two when these four teams take the court this week in pursuit of critical Big 12 tennis triumph. Buckle up for what should be a scintillating weekend of college tennis action in Ames.