Strong Singles Play Lead ISU Past Omaha, 7-0

Friday, January 30

Ames, Iowa

12:00 PM

Iowa State

Omaha

Strong Singles Play Lead ISU Past Omaha, 7-0

01.30.2015 | Tennis

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State tennis team recorded a strong performance in singles competition, only conceding just eight games across the six matches en route to defeating Omaha 7-0 at Ames Racquet and Fitness Friday afternoon. The win moved the Cyclones to 1-0 on the season, while the Mavericks fell to 1-2.

ISU won all three doubles matches, but it took some time for the Cyclones to get going. While Iowa State's No. 1 doubles team of Sami Budai and Ksenia Pronina took care of business with a 6-0 shutout of Omaha's Michelle Lo and Jacqueline Baude, others struggled. ISU's No. 2 team of Meghan Cassens and Ana Gasparovic found themselves in a 2-0 hole to UNO's Kenzie Hill and Molly Matricardi before rattling off the next six games to win 6-2 and clinch the doubles point. The No. 3 squad of Caroline Andersen and Alejandra Galvis picked up a 6-3 win over Rebecca Stafford and Allison Johnson.

“We started a little slow in spots during doubles,” Iowa State head coach Armando Espinosa said. “Omaha came out feisty and ready to play. We made some early mistakes, but were able to clean it up during singles.”

Budai didn't drop a game all day as she was the first done in singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Omaha's Matricardi. Cassens at No. 3 singles and Gasparovic at No. 5 singles also picked up wins that included 6-0 sets as Cassens defeated Baude 6-0, 6-1 and Gasparovic won 6-1, 6-0 over Hill.

The remaining Cyclones all won their matches 6-1, 6-1 with Pronina winning at No. 1 against Lo, Galvis taking down Stafford at No. 4 singles and Talisa Merchiers earning the victory at No. 6 singles over Omaha's Johnson.

“We played really well in singles,” Espinosa noted. “We had a little more discipline and the scores show it. We were not as up-and-down during singles. It was good to see the first team competition of the year, and we will see how that can help us for Iowa.”

The Cyclones have a pair of matches in Iowa City next weekend, starting with the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series showdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes at 6 p.m. next Friday. On Saturday, Feb. 7, the Cyclones will take on Utah State at 1 p.m.

Omaha at Iowa State Results
Doubles
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
No. 1: Pronina/Budai (ISU) def. Lo/Baude (UNO), 6-0
No. 2: Cassens/Gasparovic (ISU) def. Hill/Matricardi (UNO), 6-2
No. 3: Andersen/Galvis (ISU) def. Stafford/Johnson (UNO), 6-3

Singles
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5, 4, 1, 6
No. 1: Ksenia Pronina (ISU) def. Michelle Lo (UNO), 6-1, 6-1
No. 2: Samantha Budai (ISU) def. Molly Matricardi (UNO), 6-0, 6-0
No. 3: Meghan Cassens (ISU) def. Jacqueline Baude (UNO), 6-0, 6-1
No. 4: Alejandra Galvis (ISU) def. Rebecca Stafford (UNO), 6-1, 6-1
No. 5: Ana Gasparovic (ISU) def. Kenzie Hill (UNO), 6-1, 6-0
No. 6: Talisa Merchiers (ISU) def. Allison Johnson (UNO), 6-1, 6-1