No. 10 Iowa State Opens Conference Play

AMES, Iowa – No. 10 Iowa State plays host to No. 13 Kansas and Kansas State this weekend ls as it begins Big 12 play. Entering conference dual matches, Iowa State has a record of 10-2, including wins over five ranked schools. The matches will be played at Life Time Fitness in Urbandale.

The Schedule
Friday, Mar. 10 – 1:00 p.m. CT
No. 10 Iowa State (10-2) vs. No. 13 Kansas (9-1)
Sunday, Mar. 12 – Noon CT
No. 10 Iowa State (10-2) vs. Kansas State (2-10)
Lifetime Fitness – Urbandale, Iowa

Following the Matches
Live Stats links for both matches are available at the top of the page.

The Series
The Jayhawks currently lead the series against the Cyclones, 47-6. However, head coach Boomer Saia and his team have won the last two matches against the Jayhawks, with a 5-2 victory against Kansas on the road last April.

Kansas State also leads the series against Iowa State, 34-15. The Cyclones have won the last two matches against the Wildcats.

Last Time Out
The No. 10 Cyclones swept then-No. 40 Iowa, 4-0, in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series on Feb. 24. To read more about last Friday, click here.

What to Watch For
Senior Thasaporn Naklo has her name all over the Iowa State record books. With a record of 133-75, she is tied for sixth in all-time wins, one win away from passing Meghan Cassens (133-129). In her time at Iowa State, Naklo has a singles record of 6-1 against Kansas players and 3-2 against Kansas State players.

After her win at Iowa last Friday, junior Miska Kadleckova is now tied with Cassens (24-30) for first all-time in wins at the No. 3 singles spot. In 30 total matches at the No. 3 spot, Kadleckova has accumulated a record of 24-6.

Cyclone Tennis Quick Hit
Last year, Iowa State had a record of 4-5 in conference play, marking the best finish in school history. This season, the Cyclones were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12, which is the highest they have been picked to finish in conference history. As of this week, Iowa State is the highest ranked Big 12 team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

In the Rankings
The Cyclones check in at No. 10 this week in the ITA's Computerized Team rankings. This marks the fourth consecutive week Iowa State has been ranked within the top-10 and 20 straight weeks overall being ranked.

Individually, the team once again has three singles players ranked and three doubles teams ranked. In singles, sophomore Ange Oby Kajuru is leads her team coming in at the No. 51 spot. Two spots behind her is Naklo at No. 53 and rounding out the singles rankings for Iowa State is Kadleckova at No. 87.

In doubles, Kajuru and Chie Kezuka are ranked the highest at No. 37, but Naklo and Anna Supapitch Kuearum are not far behind as the No. 45 doubles team in the country. The third doubles team ranked for Saia is Kezuka and Naklo at No. 75.

No. 13 Kansas has only one player listed in ITA's rankings, and it is Malkia Ngounoue who is listed at the No. 45 spot in this week's rankings. Kansas State does not have anyone listed in the rankings.

Follow the Cyclones
Keep up with Iowa State Tennis by following @CycloneTEN on Twitter, @iowastatetennis on Instagram, and Iowa State Tennis on Facebook

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Players Mentioned

Miska Kadleckova

Ange Oby Kajuru

Chie Kezuka

Anna Supapitch Kuearum

Thasaporn Naklo

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