Completed Event: Tennis versus Blue Gray National Tennis Classic on September 12, 2025 ,
Final
Tennis
Blue Gray National Tennis Classic
Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, February 6
Wichita, Kan.
1:00 PM
Iowa State
4
vs
3
Louisville
Cyclones Rally To Beat Louisville, 4-3
02.06.2021 | Tennis
WICHITA, Kansas - Iowa State trailed 3-1 but rallied to defeat Louisville, 4-3, on Saturday evening to improve to 6-0.
Louisville suffered their first loss of the season falling to 2-1.
For the first time all season, Iowa State failed to win the doubles point despite great efforts on all three courts. Thasaporn Naklo and Miska Kadleckova were able to pick up their fifth win together this season but the battle at the three slot was won by the Cardinals, giving Louisville the point and the 1-0 lead.
In singles, Naklo continued her dominance, rolling over Nikolina Jovic 6-1, 6-0 to tie the match. The Cardinals then started putting pressure on the Cyclones by picking up victories at the two and three slots, putting them in position to secure the match with one more win.
Iowa State then began its comeback. The Cyclones' freshmen Kadleckova and Sofia Cabezas beat their opponents in two different fashions with Cabezas cruising 6-1, 6-2 and Kadleckova battling to a three-set victory. That tied the match 3-3, putting the pressure on Chie Kezuka to win it all for the Cyclones.
And Kezuka delivered with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 win. Kezuka trailed 3-0 in the decisive third set before rallying for the victory.
"I didn't feel much pressure in the first set, but from the second set, I felt I had to fight and win for the team because they cheer so loud the whole match. I was nervous, but it was so fun to play and fight for my team." said the sophomore Kezuka.
The clutch win pushes Kezuka's singles record to 6-0 on the season, proving she's a force to be reckoned with.
The Cyclones' 6-0 start matches the best in school history since the 1974-75Â season. The best start in program history was in 1973-74 when the Cyclones started 7-0 in its inaugural season.
"Overall, I couldn't be prouder of our team," head coach Boomer Saia said. "This team has such a special bond and they all competed together today. Our team did an incredible job responding after losing the doubles point. I could not be prouder of how hard we fought when our backs were against the wall."
Iowa State returns to action next weekend in Columbia, Missouri for matches against Memphis and Missouri.
DOUBLES RESULTS
#1 - Thasaporn Naklo/Miska Kadleckova (ISU) def. Rhea Verma/Andrea Di Palma (LOU), 6-2
#2 - Raven Neely/Tatiana Simova (LOU) def. Christin Hsieh/Sofia Cabezas (ISU), 6-1
#3 - Dina Chaika/Nikolina Jovic (LOU) def. Maty Cancini/Ting-Pei Chang (ISU), 7-6
SINGLES RESULTS
#1 - Naklo (ISU) def. Jovic (LOU), 6-1, 6-0
#2 - Neely (LOU) def. Cancini (ISU), 6-4, 6-4
#3 - Di Palma (LOU) def. Hsieh (ISU), 6-3, 6-2
#4 - Kadleckova (ISU) def. Sawyer (LOU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
#5 - Kezuka (ISU) def. Verma (LOU), 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
#6 - Cabezas (ISU) def. Chaika (LOU), 6-1, 6-2
FOLLOW THE CYCLONES
Keep up with Iowa State tennis by following @CycloneTEN on Twitter, @iowastatetennis on Instagram, and Iowa State Tennis on Facebook.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
12
66
Jovic, Nikolina / 0 [LOU]
10
#2 Singles Match
12
44
Neely, Raven / 0 [LOU]
66
#3 Singles Match
12
32
Di Palma, Andrea / 0 [LOU]
66
#4 Singles Match
123
566
Sawyer, Chelsea / 0 [LOU]
713
#5 Singles Match
123
166
Verma, Rhea / 0 [LOU]
624
#6 Singles Match
12
66
Chaika, Dina / 0 [LOU]
11
Players Mentioned
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