Completed Event: Tennis at North Texas on March 16, 2026 , Loss , 3, to, 4
Final
Tennis
3
North Texas
4
Iowa State University Athletics
Photo by: Athletics Communications
Cyclones Add Two; Recruiting Class Finishes In Top-25
08.07.2019 | Tennis
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State tennis team has finalized its 2019-20 roster with the addition of a pair of student-athletes, head coach Boomer Saia announced today.
The recruiting class ranks No. 23 nationally and fourth in the Big 12 Conference by Tennis Recruiting Network, despite its highest-ranked recruit joining the program after the team rankings were announced.
Thasaporn Naklo, a native of Bangkok, Thailand, brings an impressive resume to Iowa State after ranking as high as No. 27 in ITF Junior Rankings. This summer, Naklo defeated Qinwen Zheng, the No. 7 junior in the world.
Naklo, who has a UTR career high of 11.79, has played in the Australian Open, Wimbledon and this fall will participate in the US Open Junior Championships. She reached the quarterfinals in doubles at the Australian Open Junior Championships. Naklo attended Assumption College Thonburi.
"Thasaporn is a world-class player that will make a major impact on our tennis program," Saia said. "Naklo will be considered one of the best incoming freshmen in the entire country and we feel honored that she has chosen Iowa State to further her tennis career. She brings a wealth of international experience and we are extremely excited to have her join us."
Chie Kezuka, a Fujisawa, Japan native, owns a UTR career high of 11.15 and is ranked No. 692 in the ITF World Tennis Singles Ranking. Kezuka was a quarterfinalist at the Kyoto ITF Pro Tournament in 2018. She attended Hinode High School.
"Chie is a player that has consistently been one of the best Japanese juniors the last several years," Saia said. "She will bring a lot of talent to this team and help our program reach new heights. Chie is over the moon about becoming a Cyclone and she will be a great representative of our tennis program and university."
Saia and assistant coach Kenna Kilgo are excited about the future of the program after signing a top-25 group for their first recruiting class.
"Overall, we are very pleased with our first recruiting class at Iowa State," Saia said. "Kenna and I put in a lot of hard work to build relationships in the recruiting process and sell our vision of Iowa State Tennis. We feel very fortunate to be able to bring in a top-25 recruiting class this first year. Ting-Pei, Oumaima, Thesaporn, Chie and Christin will be a great foundation for our program and we are beyond excited to have them as Cyclones."
Iowa State returns three players from last season's roster, led by Maty Cancini. Cancini defeated four players ranked inside the top-105, including No. 29 Bianca Turati of Texas. Seniors Karen Alvarez and Margarita Timakova also return for the Cyclones.
2019-20 Recruiting Class
Yun-Chen "Christin" Hsieh, Taipei, Taiwan
Oumaima Aziz, Casablanca, Morocco
Ting-Pei Chang, Taipei City, Taiwan
Thasaporn Naklo, Bangkok, Thailand
Chie Kezuka, Fujisawa, Japan
Players Mentioned
Anna Supapitch-Kuearum Senior Feature
Thursday, April 10
Boomer Saia post victory over UCLA
Friday, May 12
Sofia Cabezas post UCLA Interview
Friday, May 12
ISU over Wisconsin recap
Saturday, May 06
