No. 36 Cyclones Fall To No. 6 NC State, 4-2

RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 36 Iowa State tennis team battled valiantly until the end but ultimately fell, 4-2, to No. 6 NC State in a thrilling match in the second round of the NCAA Division I tennis tournament Saturday afternoon.

The Cyclones conclude the best season in school history with a 14-8 overall record after reaching the postseason for the first time in school history. NC State improves to 18-5 overall.

North Carolina State came into the match with three ranked doubles teams and the Cyclones surrendered the point to the Wolfpack, dropping matches at No. 1 and No. 2 to fall behind 1-0.

The Cyclones never gave in, however, making the Wolfpack work for every point.

Thasaporn Naklo upset No. 6 Anna Rogers, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 1 singles to even the match at 1-1. It was the highest-ranked player that any Cyclone has ever defeated as Naklo went 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament with victories over a pair of ranked foes.

After NC State won a pair of matches at No. 2 and No. 5 to go up 3-1, Cyclone freshman Miska Kadleckova drew ISU closer with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles. Kadleckova finishes her freshman season 16-3 overall, including 8-1 at No. 3 singles.

ISU dropped the first set at both No. 4 and No. 6 singles. Both Christin Hsieh and Sofia Cabezas gave their opponents all they could handle in the second set.

Cabezas forced a third set with a 7-6 (7-4) tiebreak win in the second. Hsieh trailed 3-2 in the second and rallied to take a 5-3 lead, but her opponent Jaeda Daniel never faltered down the stretch and rallied for the 6-4, 7-5 win to clinch the match for the Wolfpack.

It marked the end of senior Maty Cancini's career for the Cyclones as she finishes as the school's career record holder with 160 victories.

Doubles Results
Order of Finish: 2, 1
#1 – #12 Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (NCST) def. Thasaporn Naklo/Christin Hsieh (ISU), 6-4
#2 – #5 Jaeda Daniel/Adriana Reami (NCST) def. Miska Kadleckova/Sofia Cabezas (ISU), 6-2
#3 – Maty Cancini/Ting-Pei Chang (ISU) vs. #42 Amelia Rajecki/Abigail Rencheli (NCST), 3-5 UF

Singles Results
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5, 3, 4
#1 – Naklo (ISU) def. #6 Rogers (NCST), 6-3, 6-1
#2 – #23 Smith (NCST) def. Cancini (ISU), 6-1, 6-3
#3 – Kadleckova (ISU) def. Reami (NCST), 6-3, 6-4
#4 – Daniel (NCST) def. Hsieh (ISU), 6-4, 7-5
#5 – #82 Rencheli (NCST) def. Kezuka (ISU), 6-2, 6-2
#6 – Cabezas (ISU) vs. Lexi Keberle (NCST), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 0-0 UF

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Sofia Cabezas

Maty Cancini

Ting-Pei Chang

Christin Hsieh

Miska Kadleckova

Thasaporn Naklo