Cyclone Tennis Fall Recap

The Iowa State tennis team had a historic fall under first-year coach Boomer Saia. The Cyclones are playing a more aggressive style of tennis under Saia, and it has already made an impact.

Six of the eight Cyclones to compete during the fall season finished with an overall record above .500. Three players tallied 20-plus wins, while all eight Cyclones had at least ten wins.

"The team did a great job of buying in and working hard this fall," Saia said. "We preach a lot about attitude, effort and competitiveness. I think [the team] really grabbed that concept throughout the fall."

CANCINI IN THE RANKINGS
Iowa State junior Maty Cancini ended the fall season after earning the highest ranking in school history, coming in at No. 74 in the final fall ITA Rankings.

Cancini had an impressive 12-4 singles record in the fall, with her biggest win coming against No. 40 Marina Guinart of Oklahoma State. Cancini knocked off Guinart 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16 at regionals.

"I think Maty gained a lot of confidence at the first couple of tournaments and then finally just broke open at regionals," Saia said. "I would say that it didn't catch me off guard because we knew what kind of talent she had."

BOOM! Maty Cancini enters the national rankings at No. 74 following her strong fall season! No Cyclone has ever been ranked this high!

🔗 https://t.co/Onu5Sh0kyZ pic.twitter.com/5s9y8ZQbXw
— Iowa State Tennis (@CycloneTEN) November 14, 2018

CYCLONES IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Seniors Annabella Bonadonna and Regina Espindola continued their climb up the Iowa State record books this fall.

Bonadonna sits third in school history on the overall career wins list with 144 career victories. Espindola scrapped her way to sixth place on the list this fall, having notched 117 wins in her career.

In addition, both Bonadonna and Espindola are climbing the overall career singles win list. Bonadonna has the third-most in school history with 66 career wins. Espindola sits two wins outside the top ten with 56 career victories in singles action.

"[Bonadonna and Espindola] are huge pieces to our success," Saia said. "They want what is best for the team and I feel lucky to be able to coach them this year."

FRESHMAN TALENT
The Cyclones have a trio of talented freshman on the roster that will make an impact in the spring. Caroline Gibbens, Ekaterina Grib and Savannah Williams combined for 38 overall wins this fall.

Grib led the way for the freshmen Cyclones. The Minsk, Belarus native amassed a 20-13 overall record and the third-most wins on the team this fall.

"I think [the freshmen] have matured a lot since August. Both with tennis and other responsibilities," Saia said. "We talk about taking care of business on and off the court and I think they've done that.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Cyclones have their eyes set on making a run up the Big 12 standings this spring.

"We want to make a run up the Big 12 standings," Saia said. "We'd love to achieve a team ranking this year in the ITA."

With so much fall success, the spring lineup is far from being set. Iowa State will open their spring season Jan. 11 at the Florida International Invitational in Miami, Fla.

Players Mentioned

Annabella Bonadonna

Maty Cancini

Regina Espindola

Caroline Gibbens

Ekaterina Grib

Savannah Williams

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